71    730 


AGRIC.  DEPT. 


; 


AGRICULTURAL 


:  . 

UNIVERSITY 


= 


CALIFORNIA. 


CALIFORNIA 


/ 


^ 

KIG   INDUSTRY, 


WITH   A   CHAPTER  ON 


FIG  CAPRIFICATION. 


Written  for  the  Annual  Report  of  the  California  State  Board  of 
Agriculture  for  1891, 


BY  B.   M. 

Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Horticulture  of  California. 


SACRAMENTO: 

STATE    OFFICE,     I     :     I    I     :     A.    J.    JOHNSTON,    SUPT.    STATE    PRINTING. 

1892. 


PRESERVATION 
COPY  ADDED 
ORIGINAL  TO  BE 
RETAINED 


(JJ 


CALIFORNIA  FIG  INDUSTRY. 

By  B.  M.  LELONG,  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Horticulture,  and  ex  officio  Chief 

Horticultural  Officer. 


The  fig  is  probably  the  oldest  of  all  cultivated  fruits.  It  is  mentioned 
in  the  first  book  of  the  Bible,  and  is  more  frequently  referred  to  in  both 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  than  any  other  fruit.  Herodotus  alludes 
to  it,  and  in  the  early  history  of  our  race  it  played  an  important  part 
among  food  products.  The  Greeks  received  the  tree  from  Caria,  whence 
its  name,  Ficus  carica,  but  improved  the  fruit  so  greatly  that  Attic  figs 
became  celebrated  and  were  in  large  demand,  so  much  so  that  stringent 
laws  regulating  their  export  were  enacted.  Pliny  mentions  several 
varieties,  and  alludes  especially  to  that  produced  in  Ebusus  as  highly 
esteemed  by  Roman  epicures,  and  mentions  the  Roman  fig  as  supplying 
a  large  part  of  the  food  of  the  slaves,  especially  of  those  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits,  by  whom  large  quantities  were  eaten  raw  at  the 
time  of  the  fig  harvest.  It  is  probably  a  native  of  the  eastern  Mediter- 
ranean regions,  but  has  spread  from  its  original  home  over  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  known  world.  It  is  to-day  found  in  all  the  warm,  temperate, 
sub-tropic,  and  northern  tropical  zones.  It  flourishes  on  the  plains  of 
northwestern  India,  on  the  Himalayas  to  an  elevation  of  five  thousand 
feet,  in  Afghanistan,  northern  Persia,  Asia  Minor,  Palestine,  northern 
Africa,  and  the  warmer  parts  of  Europe,  ripening  its  fruit  in  sheltered 
places,  even  so  far  north  as  the  southern  portion  of  England.  It  has 
been  naturalized  in  Australia,  the  north  island  of  New  Zealand,  Chile, 
California,  and  other  portions  of  the  United  States.  It  flourishes  in 
Florida  and  the  Southern  States,  and  will  grow  and  bear  fruit  in  the 
open  air  of  some  of  the  Middle  States  with  proper  care.  In  California, 
of  all  the  States  in  the  Union,  it  appears  to  attain  its  most  thrifty 
growth,  and  some  trees  now  growing  in  this  State  are  phenomenally 
large.  Immense  trees,  the  largest  in  this  State,  of  the  White  Adriatic 
fig,  grow  at  Knight's  Ferry,  in  Stanislaus  County.  They  bear  enormously, 
and  are  a  source  of  great  profit  to  their  owner. 

One  of  these  is  sixty  feet  in  height,  its  branches  shading  a  circle  of 
seventy  feet  diameter.  At  its  base  the  trunk  is  eleven  feet  in  circum- 
ference, and  at  three  feet  from  the  ground  it  is  nine  feet  around.  Several 
large  branches  divide  the  tree  a  little  above  this  point,  each  of  which 
has  a  circumference  of  nearly  five  feet;  while  at  a  distance  of  thirty 
feet  from  the  ground  the  limbs  have  a  diameter  of  seven  to  eight  inches. 
The  largest  grove  in  this  vicinity  consists  of  fifteen  massive  black  fig 
trees,  set  at  a  distance  of  sixty  feet  apart,  yet  intermingling  their  boughs 
overhead  until  a  dense  shade  is  formed  beneath  them. 

At  Rancho  Chico,  in  Butte  County,  is  a  fig  tree  planted  in  185G, 
which  measures  eleven  feet  in  circumference  one  foot  from  the  ground. 
Its  branches  have  been  trained  to  the  ground,  where  they  have  struck 
root  and  formed  new  trunks,  until  they  cover  an  area  of  a  hundred  feet 
in  diameter. 

284983 


California  possesses  very  much  the  same  requisites  in  soil  and  climate 
that  are  possessed  by  the  fig-growing  sections  of  Asia  and  Africa,  where 
the  finest  fruit  is  produced.  In  response  to  a  series  of  questions  pro- 
pounded by  the  State  Board  of  Horticulture  regarding  the  fig  in  foreign 
countries,  a  great  deal  of  useful  information  was  elicited  in  regard  to 
the  habits  of  the  tree,  methods  of  cultivation,  and  preparation  of  the 
fruit;  from  these  sources  the  information  presented  in  regard  to  this 
important  fruit  in  other  lands  is  gathered. 

Morocco  produces  a  large  variety  of  most  delicious  figs;  they  are 
called  by  the  Arabs  "  Kermuse  "  in  general,  although  each  variety  has 
its  name.  There  are  figs  of  various  colors,  some  of  which  are  white, 
yellow,  black,  purple,  and  others  green.  The  Jews  extract "  aguadiente," 
an  ardent  spirit,  from  figs.  In  Spain  they  prepare  a  savory  wine,  from 
which  a  spirit  known  as  "anisette"  is  extracted. 

In  Palestine,  while  no  figs  are  grown  for  market,  and  scarcely  any 
attention  is  given  to  the  care  and  cultivation  of  the  tree,  there  are  said 
to  be  as  many  as  twelve  varieties  of  the  fruit,  and  with  few  exceptions 
all  are  good  for  table  use.  The  best  known  are  the  large  green,  early- 
fruiting  fig,  known  as  dafonri;  small  green  later  fig,  called  ghondri; 
large  purple  fig,  named  gharroubi;  a  small  purple  fig  of  the  same  name; 
yellow  fig,  white  inside,  known  as  biadi;  yellow,  with  crimson  inside, 
called  karawi;  and  the  black  fig,  known  as  swadi.  A  great  many  figs 
are  preserved  for  future  consumption,  and  the  three  last  named  varie- 
ties are  the  favorites  for  this  purpose.  The  tree  flourishes  all  over 
Palestine — up  into  the  hill  country  to  an  elevation  of  three  thousand 
feet  or  more — and  frequently  attains  an  enormous  size,  even  on  the  most 
rocky  hillsides,  and  whether  the  land  is  hilly,  rolling,  or  level,  appears 
to  make  no  great  difference  to  them. 

In  Syria  the  best  fig  for  drying  is  the  green  variety;  the  best  for  table 
use  is  the  red  pulp  variety,  known  as  "  Buckaraty;"  a  favorite,  also,  is  a 
rounder  variety,  known  as  "  Seedany."  The  trees  grow  on  both  plains 
and  hills,  and  from  the  shore  to  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles  inland, 
and  to  an  elevation  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet. 

In  Tripoli  fig  trees  grow  on  the  plains  as  well  as  on  the  mountains; 
the  more  they  are  exposed  to  the  sun  the  better  they  prosper.  They  are 
found  in  rolling  and  level  land,  both  of  which  are  adapted  to  their 
growth.  It  is  customary  in  this  country  to  plant  fig  trees  in  either 
white  clayey  soil  or  in  a  blackish  soil — the  latter  not  being  good  for 
other  kinds  of  trees. 

In  France  the  fig  grows  in  an  almost  wild  state  in  many  places.  On 
many  an  old  wall  small  fig  trees  are  to  be  seen,  and  on  many  a  road- 
bank  they  are  the  trees  most  frequently  to  be  seen.  In  country  farm- 
yards, innkeepers'  gardens,  and  stable-yards  the  fig  tree  is  invariably 
present,  and  very  often  as  a  solitary  specimen.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  garden  of  any  description  in  southern  France  without  a  fig  tree. 

In  Italy  many  varieties  are  cultivated.  Usually  the  fig  is  planted  in 
company  with  other  fruit  trees — the  olive,  almond,  and  others — but  fig 
orchards  where  figs  alone  are  grown  may  be  found  at  Lecce  and  other 
places,  and  in  such  cases  the  trees  must  be  planted  at  such  a  distance 
apart  that  when  they  reach  their  fullest  development  they  may  not 
come  in  contact  with  each  other.  In  many  places  it  is  the  custom  to 
alternate  the  fig,  almond,  and  olive,  so  that  each  fig  tree  may  be  iso- 
lated. The  introduction  of  the  fig  into  Italy  antedates  authentic  history, 


and  is  lost  in  the  misty  depths  of  tradition.  Pliny  refers  to  a  tree 
which  existed  long  anterior  to  the  founding  of  Rome,  under  which  the 
people  of  that  city  were  wont  to  assemble  to  discuss  the  topics  of  the 
day  years  thereafter.  Tradition  claims  this  tree  to  have  been  that 
under  which  Remus  and  Romulus  were  found,  and  in  commemoration 
thereof  it  was  preserved. 

The  fig  grows  spontaneously  in  the  arid  wastes  of  Greece,  Asia,  and 
northern  Africa.  In  countries  where  the  thermometer  does  not  fall 
below  59  degrees  Fahrenheit,  the  growth  and  maturity  of  the  fig  proceed 
without  any  appreciable  interruption;  but  in  colder  countries,  upon  the 
advent  of  the  first  frost  the  fig  tree  loses  its  leaves  and  those  seed  recep- 
tacles which,  under  favorable  circumstances,  would  have  continued  to 
develop,  harden,  and  remain  inert  until  the  following  spring,  when,  with 
the  return  of  warm  weather,  they  resume  their  growth,  being  the  first 
to  mature  in  the  summer.  The  figs  thus  resulting  are  denominated 
"  fig  flowers,"  in  order  to  distinguish  them  from  those  which  first  appear 
in  the  spring  and  mature  later. 

In  hot  countries  the  fig  tree  grows  to  large  proportions,  and  in  isolated 
and  favorable  localities  it  assumes  a  beautiful  form  without  need  of  modi- 
fication or  pruning.  Its  branches  project  themselves  regularly  toward 
the  earth  from  year  to  year,  and  finally  reaching  and  entering  it  they 
throw  out  new  roots,  thus  forming  additional  sources  of  propagation. 

The  fruit  of  the  fig  tree  may  be  reckoned  among  the  staple  food  of  man 
for  ages  before  cereals  were  cultivated  by  any  settled  agricultural  popu- 
lation. In  the  temperate  regions,  where  it  thrives  best,  it  fills  the  place 
of  the  banana  of  tropical  climates,  and  yields  fruit  during  several  months 
of  the  year.  In  Asia  Minor,  where  the  tree  is  found  wild,  and  where 
the  best  figs  of  commerce  are  grown,  it  is  extremely  fruitful. 

The  best  figs  for  drying  come  from  the  valleys  of  the  Meander  and  the 
Kaistros,  to  the  south  of  Smyrna,  where  the  trees  are  planted  with  great 
regularity  and  care,  and  the  ground  is  dug  and  hoed  from  four  to  six 
times  during  the  summer.  When  the  figs  reach  Smyrna  they  are  sorted 
by  women  and  packed  in  boxes  by  men.  They  are  the  best  when  newly 
packed,  and  as  months  go  by  get  drier  and  harder  in  the  warehouse. 

Although  throughout  the  world  there  are  to  be  found  more  than  a 
hundred  different  species  of  figs,  only  some  five  or  six  are  cultivated  in 
Turkey,  from  whence  we  get  the  fig  of  commerce.  Of  these  the  best  are 
grown  most  largely  and  in  greatest  perfection  around  Smyrna,  but  con- 
siderable quantities  are  also  grown  in  other  parts  of  Asia  Minor.  The 
fruit  is  of  various  colors,  from  deep  purple  to  yellow,  or  nearly  white. 
The  trees  usually  bear  two  crops,  one  in  the  early  summer,  from  the 
buds  of  the  previous  year,  and  the  other  in  the  autumn,  from  those  of 
the  spring  growth.  The  last  forms  the  chief  harvest.  The  Ficus  caricay 
from  which  the  commercial  fig  is  produced,  is  a  tree  rarely  more  than 
eighteen  or  twenty  feet  in  height,  with  broad,  rough,  deciduous  leaves, 
very  deeply  lobed  in  the  cultivated  variety,  but  in  the  wild  plant  nearly 
entire.  After  the  young  tree  attains  maturity  it  receives  but  little  care 
beyond  being  occasionally  lopped  in  places  and  being  well  manured  in 
the  fall  of  the  year. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  the  fruit  of  the  fig  tree  is,  that  it  grows  and 
ripens  without  any  apparent  blossom.  The  edible  part,  however,  is  not 
a  fruit  proper,  but  a  hollow  receptacle  which  contains  the  flowers,  and 
in  the  mature  fig,  the  fruit.  This  fruit  is  composed  of  numerous  small 


seeds  imbedded  in  the  juicy  pulp  of  the  receptacle  composing  the  fig. 
The  flowers  are  very  small  and  unisexual,  the  male  flowers  occupying 
the  upper  end  of  the  cavity,  and  the  female  flowers  the  lower  portion. 

The  question  of  fertilization  of  the  female  flowers  of  the  fig  is  a  vexed 
one.  la  miiujL-uiUaUeB  tliu  polldii  uf  LLu  ift^OwIlumcm  fm-tilhiuij  the 
-fciiiaJH  rkiwai-H  uf  Ihu  Ljuiiiu  luuepbtmle,  and  the  fruit  matures;  but  with 
other  varieties,  notably  the  Smyrna,  this  process  does  not  become  com- 
plete, and  the  fruit  drops  from  the  tree  when  half  grown.  So  inferior 
has  been  the  fruit  of  the  Smyrna  fig  when  grown  in  California,  that  the 
question  is  seriously  raised  as  to  whether  the  true  Smyrna  fig  has  ever 
reached  us.  Of  this,  however,  there  is  little  room  for  doubt,  as  cuttings 
and  rooted  trees  from  authentic  sources  have  been  received  and  propa- 
gated in  this  State.  Consul  Emmett,  of  Smyrna,  in  his  report  says 
that  in  1886  a  party  from  California,  apparently  well  posted,  went  there 
in  the  summer,  visited  the  fig  district,  and  inspected  the  different  varie- 
ties; he  made  his  selection,  and  marked  the  trees  from  which  he  desired 
cuttings.  When  the  crop  was  gathered  he  obtained  thirty  thousand 
female  and  three  thousand  male  cuttings,  which  were  packed  and 
shipped  about  the  end  of  October.  To  still  further  set  at  rest  the  ques- 
tion of  the  authenticity  of  the  Smyrna  fig  in  California,  during  the  past 
year  the  State  Board  of  Horticulture  procured  direct  from  Smyrna  a 
shipment  of  fifty  well-rooted  four-year  old  trees.  These  arrived  in  excel- 
lent condition,  and  were  distributed  over  the  State.  Over  two  thousand 
applications  for  trees  were  made  to  the  Board,  and  out  of  these  careful 
selections  were  made,  considering  locality  and  facilities  for  cultivation 
and  care.  Reports  received  from  some  of  those  who  received  these  trees 
show  that  they  have  done  well,  in  some  cases  a  growth  of  over  two  feet 
having  been  made.  The  wide  distribution  of  these  trees  gives  an  assur- 
ance of  a  thorough  trial  of  the  Smyrna  fig  in  the  various  sections  of  the 
State,  and  a  guarantee  of  the  spread  of  the  genuine  fig  of  commerce. 

That  we  have  growing  in  this  State  the  genuine  Smyrna  fig  tree  is 
almost  beyond  question,  but  whether  it  will  ever  prove  profitable  is  still 
a  question.  It  is  claimed  by  some  that  the  dropping  of  the  immature 
fruit  is  due  to  lack  of  age  in  the  trees,  and  by  others  to  the  incapability  of 
self-fertilization  in  this  variety.  In  Asiatic  countries  it  has  been  the 
custom  from  time  immemorial  to  hang  fruits  of  the  wild  or  caprifig  on 
the  limbs  and  boughs  of  the  domestic  fig  tree,  under  the  impression  that 
the  pollen  of  the  male  fig  was  conveyed  to  the  female  by  means  of  a 
small  fly  known  as  the  Blastophaga.  While  this  practice  is  considered 
as  an  absolute  necessity  by  the  Asiatic  growers,  who  inherited  the  tradi- 
tion from  their  ancestors  for  a  remote  period,  those  who  have  given  it  a 
thorough  scientific  investigation  declare  it  not  alone  useless,  but  detri- 
mental. This  subject  was  exhaustively  dealt  with  by  Professor  Gaspar- 
rini,  a  translation  of  whose  valuable  paper  thereon  is  given  elsewhere. 
However,  whatever  good  the  Blastophaga  may  be  capable  of  accomplish- 
ing in  the  way  of  assisting  in  the  fertilization  of  the  fig,  California  may 
now  hope  to  participate  in,  for,  owing  to  the  efforts  and  enterprise  of 
Mr.  James  Shinn,  of  Niles,  we  are  now  in  possession  of  this  insect. 

The  fig  growers  of  this  State  were  and  had  been  anxious  to  have  the 
insect  introduced,  so  that  its  merits  pro  and  con  might  be  established. 
To  this  end  the  entomologist  of  the  National  Department  of  Agriculture 
was  asked  to  procure  the  insect  from  Smyrna,  as  the  facilities  of  Govern- 
ment officials  in  such  matters  are  well  known.  In  the  June  number 


(1891)  of  "Insect  Life'7  he  says  that  efforts  would  be  made  to  introduce 
the  insect  into  our  State,  but  as  to  what  efforts  were  made  nothing  has 
been  heard.  I  should  not  be  surprised  in  the  least  if  in  some  coming 
number  of  some  publication,  he  broaches  the  claim  that  the  credit  of 
introduction  belongs  to  him,  as  scarcely  a  bug  has  been  introduced  or 
discovered  of  which  he  has  not  claimed  first  credit,  and,  as  one  of  our 
Congressmen  expressed  it  to  the  members  of  the  State  Board  of  Horti- 
culture, "  He  not  only  wanted  to  make  me  believe  that  he  discovered 
the  bug,  but  had  also  produced  it."  "What  egotism!  how  selfish,  oh 
man !"  Officers  of  this  kind  should  lay  aside  all  ambition  for  notoriety 
at  the  expense  of  the  public,  and  when  their  deeds  become  known  the 
people  will  show  them  their  gratefulness.  But  a  man  who  has  such  a 
disregard  for  the  truth  cannot  but  be  held  in  contempt,  and  if  they 
could  only  see  their  vanity,  how  different  things  might  be,  and  the  Gov- 
ernment would  not  be  taxed  with  the  burden  of  printing  and  circulat- 
ing their  vanities  (an  insult  to  science),  and,  furthermore,  of  employing 
an  editor  to  prevent  one  man  from  appropriating  the  credit  due  to  others; 
and  why  this  state  of  things  should  be  allowed  to  continue  the  public 
ought  to  know. 

As  to  the  manner  of  the  introduction  of  the  Blastophaga,  I  cannot  do 
better  than  to  give  Mr.  Shinn's  own  account:  "  We  wrote  to  some  friends 
that  were  known  to  us  in  Smyrna;  or  rather,  some  missionaries  were 
stopping  at  my  house,  and  seeing  that  my  fig  did  not  bear,  and  that  I 
was  getting  uneasy  about  it,  one  of  the  ladies,  my  wife's  sister,  said  she 
knew  a  lady  from  Syracuse,  New  York,  who  was  then  in  Smyrna,  and 
if  she  would  write  to  her  she  would  fix  up  a  few  of  the  fig  cuttings  and 
send  them.  The  lady  sent  for  them,  and  instead  of  sending  a  half 
dozen  cuttings,  sent  a  whole  box  of  cuttings,  on  which  I  paid  about 
$100.  After  I  received  this  box,  here  comes  another  little  box  and  a 
letter,  saying:  'The  figs  must  be  caprified;  if  not  you  will  get  no  figs. 
I  send  you  a  little  box  of  figs  that  are  full  of  the  Blastophaga,  and  hope 
you  can  do  well  with  them.7  The  moment  we  got  them  my  son  went 
out  to  the  caprifig  tree,  opened  the  box  and  set  it  out  there.  Some  of 
the  insects  were  dead  and  some  were  alive.  I  saw  Mr.  Eisen  the  next 
day,  and  told  him  about  the  Blastophaga  and  the  figs.  He  and  Mr. 
Maslin  came  to  my  place  the  Sunday  following,  July  26th.  We  exam- 
ined and  found  some  live  insects,  but  most  of  them  were  dead.  The 
Smyrna  figs  that  were  caprified,  that  is,  that  had  the  pollen  put  in  arti- 
ficially, came  to  perfection,  but  no  others  did.  Two  crops  have  all  gone 
to  the  ground  and  are  now  on  the  ground,  except  about  ten  figs.  The 
pollen  that  was  injected  into  the  figs  was  from  the  caprifigs  grown  on  my 
place  at  Niles.  There  are  two  varieties  of  the  Smyrna  fig.  One  has  a 
three-lobed  leaf,  and  the  figs  are  small  and  elongated.  The  other  is  a 
five-lobed  leaf,  and  the  figs  are  flat  and  roundish." 

The  ground  for  argument  by  those  who  believe  in  caprification,  has 
been  that  no  fertile  seeds  had  been  found  in  any  California-grown  fig. 
Also,  that  all  figs,  and  especially  the  Smyrna,  only  contain  female  flow- 
ers; and  the  fact  of  fruit  of  trees  imported  from  Smyrna  not  coming  to 
perfection,  gave  them  stronger  grounds  for  such  belief;  that  is,  the  pol- 
len of  the  male,  or  caprifig,  had  to  come  in  contact  with  the  flowers  of 
the  female  fig  to  produce  fruit.  Also,  that  the  reason  for  not  having 
found  kernels  in  the  seeds  of  California-grown  figs  was  attributed  to  the 
lack  of  the  pollen  fertilization. 


On  October  20,  1891,  while  visiting  an  orchard  at  Los  Gatos,  I  came 
across  a  tree  which  attracted  my  attention  by  reason  of  its  being  of  pecul- 
iar foliage;  and  upon  cutting  the  fruit  I  found  that  it  possessed  both 
pistillate  (the  female  organ  of  a  phsenogam,  consisting  of  the  ovary  with 
its  stylus  and  stigma)  and  staminate  (the  pollen-bearing,  organ  of  the 
flower,  consisting  of  an  anther  usually  supported  upon  a  stalk  or  fila- 
ment) flowers,  which  were  so  grouped  that  the  pollen  from  one  was  freely 
conveyed  to  the  other.  Thus  fertilized,  the  female  blossoms  had  devel- 
oped into  hundreds  of  perfect  seeds  with  well-defined  kernels. 

This  is  the  first  time  that  fruit  of  this  character  has  been  found  in 
this  State;  that  is,  containing  both  pistillate  and  staminate  flowers,  and 
the  seeds  perfect  kernels.  One  of  the  specimens  cut  in  the  presence  of 
E.  W.  Maslin,  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Trade,  and  G.  F.  Weeks, 
agricultural  editor  of  the  San  Francisco  "  Chronicle,"  was  full  of  pollen; 
in  fact,  the  pollen  was  so  abundant  that  it  gave  the  center  of  the  fig  a 
yellow  appearance.  Unfortunately,  the  figs  were  not  fully  matured,  so 
there  was  no  opportunity  to  test  their  quality.  On  cutting  them  open 
they  were  of  a  decidedly  purple  hue  near  the  skin,  changing  to  bright 
red  and  to  deep  red  in  riper  specimens.  Hardly  any  red  coloration  was 
visible  in  greener  specimens,  the  entire  flesh  being  a  deep  purple.  The 
fig  is  of  elongated  shape,  rather  small,  and  resembles  the  elongated  fig 
grown  by  Mr.  Shinn,  both  in  shape  and  color  of  flesh.  It  has  a  leaf 
resembling  the  Smyrna,  finely  lobed. 

Afterwards  Mr.  Maslin  brought  to  my  office  several  seedling  Smyrna 
figs  grown  by  him  in  Placer  County.  The  specimens  were  small,  of  a 
bright  amber  color,  and  the  fruits  in  the  receptacle  well  developed  and 
ripe.  Upon  examination  they  were  found  to  contain  numerous  male 
flowers  and  considerable  pollen.  We  have  here  two  conclusive  facts, 
showing  that  the  insect  is  not  altogether  essential  for  the  setting  of  the 
fruit,  in  some  figs,  at  least. 

This  is  a  progressive  world,  and  its  people,  step  by  step,  have  unrav- 
eled many  of  the  most  difficult  problems;  so  let  us  hope  that  wisdom 
and  ingenuity  will  in  the  near  future  solve  this  interesting  question. 

The  subject  of  caprification  of  the  fig  is  dealt  with  so  exhaustively 
and  ably  in  the  report  of  Professor  Gasparrini,  that  nothing  further  need 
be  said  of  it  in  this  place. 

The  fig  is  a  deciduous  tree,  and  requires  about  the  same  degree  of 
temperature  to  ripen  its  fruit  to  perfection  as  does  the  olive,  although 
it  will  ripen  its  fruit  where  the  olive  will  not.  In  fact,  conditions  suitable 
to  the  one  will  be  found  favorable  to  the  other.  Its  fructification  and 
vegetation  are  uninterrupted  where  the  temperature  does  not  fall  below 
53  degrees  Fahrenheit.  Where  the  temperature  falls  below  this  the 
leaves  fall,  and  the  fruit  presents  a  peculiar  phenomenon.  A  branch 
only  develops  and  ripens  part  of  the  figs  borne  upon  it — those  on  the 
lower  end,  nearest  the  stem.  The  immature  figs  at  the  farther  end  of 
the  branch  have  their  growth  arrested  by  the  first  cold  weather,  and 
remain  dormant  during  the  winter,  resuming  their  growth  the  following 
spring,  and  ripening  in  the  summer.  These  are  known  as  "  first  figs," 
or  "  summer  figs."  Those  which  commence  their  formation  in  spring  on 
the  lower  part  of  the  branches  are  called  "  second  figs,"  or  "  autumn  figs." 
In  our  warm  climate  there  are  thus  two  crops  from  the  same  tree  every 
year.  In  colder  climates  the  "  first,"  or  "  summer  "  figs  form  the  whole 
crop,  as  autumn  figs  can  only  be  produced  in  unusually  warm  seasons. 


In  a  warm  climate  the  autumn  crop  will  yield  most  figs,  which  are 
sweeter,  less  watery,  and  better  suited  for  drying  than  summer  fruit. 

The  fig  is  the  faithful  companion  of  the  olive  and  the  vine,  and  where 
these  two  plants  thrive  it  also  grows  and  fructifies.  It  is  necessary, 
though,  that  the  plants  be  never  subjected  to  a  cold  more  intense  than 
14  degrees  Fahrenheit.  If  the  temperature  exceeds  this  limit  it  is  neces- 
sary to  head  the  fig  very  low,  as  is  practiced  at  Argenteuil,  in  France. 

VARIETIES. 

The  long  cultivation  to  which  this  plant  has  been  subjected,  in  greatly 
different  countries,  has  given  rise  to  a  very  large  number  of  varieties,  a 
few  of  which  only  were  known  to  the  ancients.  In  fact,  Cato  mentions 
but  six,  and  Pliny,  two  centuries  later,  carried  the  number  to  about 
thirty.  Thus,  by  the  side  of  the  figs  of  Tivoli  and  Herculaneum,  men- 
tioned by  this  writer,  are  indicated  those  from  Rhodes,  Lydia,  Hyrcania, 
and  others,  which,  like  the  Liviani,  the  Pompeiiani,  got  their  names 
from  their  introducers  and  propagators. 

To-day  the  number  of  fig  varieties  is  so  great  that  it  would  require  a 
long  study  to  be  able  to  describe  them  all,  and  such  a  task  would  not  be 
one  of  the  easiest,  inasmuch  as  a  great  many  of  these  varieties  possess 
some  peculiar  characters  and  habits,  which  might  be  observed  and  recog- 
nized through  experience,  but  could  not  be  described  exactly  without 
much  difficulty.  Suffren,  who  lovingly  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of 
the  varieties  of  figs  which  were  cultivated  in  Provence  in  his  time, 
found  that  their  number  exceeded  several  hundred.  The  figs  may  be 
classed  into  two  large  groups,  the  first  of  which  comprises  the  varieties 
that  yield  only  one  crop  of  fruits  a  year,  be  they  early  or  late,  and  the 
second,  the  other  varieties  which  to  the  first  yield  add .  another,  called 
September  fruits,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  first,  which  are  called 
flower,  or  first  figs. 

The  fig  will  do  well  in  any  soil,  but  prefers  a  dry,  friable  earth.  In 
fact,  it  will  do  well  on  a  greater  range  of  soils  than  will  most  of  our 
orchard  trees.  Black,  heavy  adobe  soil,  however,  should  be  avoided,  as 
should  also  damp,  marshy  land.  The  fig  tree  requires  a  good  deal  of 
moisture,  but  not  too  much,  and  will  frequently  show  its  best  results 
in  the  irrigated  foothills. 

The  conditions  required  for  the  production  of  figs  for  drying  purposes 
are  far  more  exacting  than  are  those  required  in  the  production  of  fruit 
for  table  use.  The  latter  will  thrive  and  yield  good  results  under  con- 
ditions unfavorable  to  the  former.  Table  figs  can  be  produced  over  a 
large  area  of  the  United  States,  covering  most  of  the  Southern  States; 
but  it  is  not  probable  that  California  will  ever  meet  a  formidable  com- 
petition in  the  production  of  dried  figs,  in  which  she  will  yet  excel. 
Travelers  who  have  visited  both  sections  remark  on  the  great  similarity 
of  the  soil  and  climate  of  our  interior  valleys  and- those  of  Asia  Minor, 
where  the  best  dried  figs  are  produced.  The  seasons  there,  as  here,  are 
divided  into  the  wet  and  dry.  The  winter  rains  commence  in  Novem- 
ber, and  continue  until  the  following  May;  frpm  May  until  October  is 
the  dry  season,  during  which  season  rain  rarely  falls,  and  the  ripening 
and  drying  of  the  fruit  is  not  retarded.  Occasionally  heavy  showers 
fall  during  the  summer  months,  and  these  are  as  much  dreaded  there 
as  are  their  counterparts  in  California.  In  the  favored  localities  of 


—  10  — 

Smyrna  the  thermometer's  extreme  range  is  from  90  to  100  degrees  in 
the  shade;  130  to  140  degrees  in  the  sun  as  the  highest,  to  26  degrees  as 
the  lowest.  A  heavier  frost,  however,  will  not  do  serious  injury  to  the 
tree  or  injure  the  crop. 

The  same  climate  that  suits  the  olive  is  favorable  to  the  .fig — a  warm 
climate,  where  excesses  of  heat  and  cold  do  not  exist.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  that  on  the  right  side  of  the  Rhone,  in  France,  figs  do  not  develop 
very  well,  the  fruit  remains  small,  and  is  not  good  for  drying;  whereas 
on  the  left  side,  and  from  the  Rhone  to  the  Italian  frontier,  figs  attain  a 
far  higher  degree  of  quality;  they  are  larger,  sweeter,  more  delicate,  and 
are  excellent  for  drying.  The  explanation  of  this  fact  is  that  the  plains 
and  districts  on  the  right  side  of  the  Rhone  are  not  sheltered  by  hills  as 
on  the  other  side.  ,  Sheltered  hillsides  are  very  favorable  to  fig  culture, 
and  exposure  to  cold  winds  is  not  conducive  of  good  results. 

The  soil  in  Smyrna  and  vicinity  is  very  variable.  It  contains  a  fair 
percentage  of  lime  and  potash,  but  is  otherwise  of  various  qualities. 
The  most  luxuriant  growth  is  obtained  in  a  deep,  rich  soil,  but  the  best 
figs  are  grown  on  a  soil  which  is  made  loose  and  porous  by  a  fair  admix- 
ture of  sand.  A  sandy  loam  is  thus  the  best,  probably  because  the 
drainage  is  here  the  most  perfect.  Such  soils  produce  large  figs,  of  a 
white,  thin  skin,  of  high  flavor  and  great  sweetness. 

In  aspect,  the  Meander  Valley  resembles  our  lowest  foothills — small 
valleys,  separated  by  low  ridges,  during  the  dry  season  as  uninviting  as 
the  foothills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  or  the  Sierra  Madre.  Some  of  the 
fig  orchards  are  planted  on  hill  land,  and  some  in  the  valleys,  neither 
locality  having  any  decided  advantage  over  the  other.  The  valleys  and 
plains  generally  give  thickest  skinned  fruit,  the  skins  of  the  mountain 
figs  being  considered  thinner.  In  rainy  or  foggy  weather  the  mountains 
or  hills  dry  up  the  fastest,  in  this  respect  showing  a  decided  advantage 
over  the  low,  perhaps  swampy  plains. 

PROPAGATION. 

The  propagation  of  the  fig  is  very  simple,  and  can  be  multiplied  in 
various  ways,  viz.:  by  suckers  (shoots  that  spring  from  the  roots),  by 
layers,  and  by  cuttings. 

Suckers. — The  young  shoots  that  spring  up  from  near  the  base  or 
crown  of  the  tree,  are  called  suckers.  They  generally  contain  a  small 
portion  of  roots,  which,  upon  being  transplanted,  soon  form  trees.  The 
wound  made  on  them  by  removing  from  the  parent  tree  soon  heals  over. 
There  are,  however,  great  objections  to  trees  produced  from  suckers. 
First  among  all  is,  perhaps,  the  fact  that  the  sucker  generally  con- 
tains a  portion  of  bark  from  the  parent  tree,  from  which  many  shoots 
or  suckers  put  forth ;  also,  the  growth  is  not  well  formed,  resembling 
water-sprouts,  having  but  a  feeble  body,  and  as  they  are  required  to  be 
topped  in  order  to  branch  out,  put  forth  feeble  shoots  which  the  body  of 
the  tree  cannot  support.  In  such  cases  it  is  best  to  allow  such  trees  to 
grow  the  first  year  without  trimming  to  form  their  body,  and  the  second 
year  the  trees  can  be  pruned  as  desired;  in  this  way  they  become  more 
healthful. 

Cuttings. — There  is  no  better  way  to  propagate  the  fig  than  by  the 
simple  method  of  cuttings,  which  is  the  most  practical,  and  above  all 
the  best.  By  this  method  nearly  every  part  of  a  tree  can  be  utilized. 


—  11  — 

The  best  season  for  the  propagation  of  the  fig  by  cuttings  is  through 
the  months  of  February  and  March,  the  cuttings  at  this  time  being 
taken  off  while  the  trees  are  quite  dormant.  Great  care  must  be  taken 
that  no  cuttings  be  cut  after  the  sap  is  in  motion,  because  the  milky 
juice  which  is  produced  so  abundantly  prevents  the  rooting  of  the  cut- 
tings. This,  however,  has  no  reference  to  young  shoots  in  summer, 
which,  towards  autumn,  when  the  wood  is  ripening,  root  very  readily. 
The  best  cuttings  are  from  stubby,  short-jointed,  well- ripened  wood; 
they  grow  the  most  readily.  One-year  old  wood  is  generally  the  best 
age  for  cuttings,  although  two  and  three-year  old  wood  also  does  remark- 
ably well,  though  no  eyes  may  be  visible.  The  long,  spindling,  badly 
ripened  shoots,  like  water-sprouts,  suckers,  and  such  as  are  produced 
where  the  wood  is  crowded,  are  very  difficult  to  make  grow,  and  those 
that  do  grow  require  age  to  become  thrifty  trees. 

PRUNING. 

Pruning  should  be  performed  as  soon  after  the  fall  of  the  leaves  as 
possible,  in  whatever  situation  the  trees  may  be.  When  trees  are 
pruned  at  that  season,  they  being  then  dormant,  no  injury  is  sustained; 
while  if  the  operation  is  delayed  until  late  in  the  spring,  when  the  sap 
is  again  in  motion,  and  there  being  such  a  volume  flowing,  the  shoots 
are  apt  to  die  after  being  cut.  The  success  of  the  fruit  crop  greatly 
depends  upon  the  method  of  pruning. 

It  has  often  been  claimed  that  the  fig  tree  never  bears  when  once 
pruned;  this  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  correct,  but  the  real  cause  is  entirely 
owing  to  the  immaturity  of  the  wood,  caused  by  pruning,  which  fails  to 
produce  fruit,  or  to  the  fruits  being  produced  and  failing  to  ripen.  If 
the  fruit-bearing  shoots  are  cut  back  the  first  crop  of  fruit  is  destroyed. 

Fig  trees  having  non-bearing  shoots  can  be  pruned  without  any  loss 
of  fruit.  If  a  fig  tree  is  pruned  to  any  extent,  there  will  be  a  loss  of  the 
crop;  however,  such  operation  at  times  must  be  performed  to  keep  the 
trees  well  balanced  and  within  form,  although  this  only  affects  the  crop 
of  one  season.  After  the  tree  has  been  properly  balanced  and  shaped, 
whether  high  or  low,  then  pruning  can  be  effected  the  following  year 
with  a  certainty  of  a  crop  the  same  season;  in  such  case  the  shoots 
must  not  be  cut,  excepting  just  a  few  here  and  there  to  keep  the  tree 
well  balanced. 

All  such  shoots  which  bear  only  wood  buds  should  be  cut  back,  and, 
if  necessary,  cut  out  entirely,  as  they  only  take  away  nutritious  sap 
which  should  flow  into  the  fruit  and  into  fruit-bearing  wood.  Branches 
of  almost  any  age  or  size  can  be  cut  off  from  any  part  of  the  tree,  and 
young  shoots  will  be  produced  quite  freely,  but  the  cuts  or  wounds 
should  always  be  covered  with  grafting  wax  or  rubber  paint,  which  helps 
them  to  heal  over  and  protects  the  stock  from  the  action  of  the  atmos- 
phere. If  too  many  shoots  are  thus  produced,  they  can  be  reduced 
when  young  to  the  required  number. 

FORMATION    OF    THE    TREE. 

The  proper  formation  of  the  tree  next  presents  itself  for  consideration, 
with  a  view  to  the  simple  production  of  fruit.  The  formation  of  the 
tree  requires  the  exercise  of  knowledge  and  understanding.  All  fruit 


'  —  12  — 

trees  which  naturally  assume  a  bushy  form  should  have  their  energies 
confined  to  a  single  stem,  with  the  head  of  the  tree,  of  whatever  char- 
acter, formed  thereon,  and  they  always  prove  the  most  fruitful.  When 
a  number  of  shoots  are  allowed  to  spring  from  the  root,  all  striving  to 
outstrip  one  another,  a  huge  unshapely  bush  is  the  result.,  Fig  trees, 
as  a  rule,  produce  suckers  (shoots  from  the  roots)  in  abundance,  which, 
even  if  they  have  a  fine,  healthy  appearance,  should  not  be  allowed  to 
remain;  they  produce  no  fruit  and  only  crowd  and  rob  the  parent  stem. 
The  confining  of  a  plant  to  a  single  stem  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
for  the  production  of  fruit  of  nearly  all  fruit  trees,  and  is  especially  so 
with  the  fig.  The  trees  can  be  trained  either  with  high  or  low  trunks, 
after  once  being  formed;  pruning  then  becomes  less,  requiring  only 
thinning  out  and  occasional  shortening  of  some  of  the  branches.  The 
pruner  has,  however,  great  difficulty  in  contending  against  the  over-lux- 
uriance  of  growth  of  trees  grown  on  damp  soil.  In  such  cases  it  is 
necessary  that  the  pruner  should  guard  against  over-luxuriance,  by 
keeping  the  shoots  on  the  tree  thin  and  well  exposed  to  the  full  influ- 
ence of  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun.  The  trees  should  also  be  prevented 
from  extending  beyond  bounds,  even  if  heavy  cutting  has  to  be  resorted 
to.  Where  trees  grow  under  such  conditions  (too  luxuriantly),  the 
young  growing  shoots  should  be  vigorously  pinched  back  through  the 
summer,  in  order  to  check  luxuriance  and  bring  the  tree  into  a  stubby, 
fruitful  form  of  growth. 

PRODUCTION   OF   FRUIT. 

The  first  crop  of  the  fig  is  borne  on  the  wood  of  the  previous  season's 
formation.  That  of  the  second,  or  succeeding  crop,  is  produced  in  the 
axils  of  the  leaves  on  the  wood  of  the  current  season's  growth.  Fre- 
quently remnants  of  the  last  crop  of  fruit  of  the  previous  season  are 
seen  on  the  trees  after  the  fall  of  the  leaves  in  autumn;  these  are  those 
which  failed  to  arrive  at  maturity,  perhaps  through  want  of  heat  or  the 
proper  conditions  required  at  that  time.  This  fruit  is  not  worth  consid- 
eration; sometimes  a  few,  under  very  favorable  conditions,  remain  on 
the  tree  and  ripen  the  season  following,  but  this  is  very  seldom. 

PREPARATION   OF    THE   FIG. 

Fresh  figs  are  toothsome  fruits,  but  little  nutritious,  and  sometimes 
rather  indigestible.*  The  dried  figs  are  the  most  valuable.  These  are 
prepared  either  by  artificial  or  natural  heat.  The  experiments  made 
during  this  and  former  years  proved  conclusively  the  fact  that  natural 
heat  is  the  best,  and  produces  better  fruit.  Before  mentioning  the  pro- 
cesses in  use  in  this  State,  I  will  briefly  describe  the  processes  in  use  in 
foreign  countries;  and  while  many,  and,  perhaps,  most  of  them  could 
not  be  put  into  practice  in  this  State,  many  good  ideas  are  derived 
from  them. 

The  Tuscans  dry  them  loose,  and  make  loaves  of  the  whitest  and  the 
sweetest.  In  the  southern  provinces  they  are  strung  on  small  canes  or 
flexible  branchlets  of  holm  oak  or  of  other  plants. 

The  same  mode  of  operation  as  in  Tuscany  is  followed  in  the  Marches, 
in  Umbria,  and  in  the  Abruzzi,  and  if  there  be  any  difference,  it  exists 
only  in  the  divers  varieties  of  fruits  used  and  the  manner  of  handling 
and  dressing  them. 


—  13  — 

At  Naples,  as  already  stated,  the  production  of  dried  figs  is  rather 
insignificant,  owing  to  the  great  consumption  of  figs  in  the  fresh  state. 
This  industry,  however,  begins  to  assume  a  greater  importance  in  some 
parts  of  the  province,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  district  of  Pozzuoli,  con- 
cerning which  the  Agricultural  Association  reports  as  follows  to  the 
Ministry: 

"  The  dried  figs  confected  in  this  district  are  to  be  considered  as  a 
commercial  product,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  but  the  export  is  very 
limited.  The  preparation  of  dried  figs  is  simple.  As  soon  as  gathered 
the  figs  are  dried,  some  peeled,  some  in  their  natural  state,  and  others 
divided  in  halves  down  to  the  stalk;  the  latter  are  afterwards  united  in 
pairs,  or  else  made  into  various  shapes,  such  as  small  slabs,  hearts,  and 
the  like.  Those  which,  on  account  of  rain  or  other  circumstances  are 
not  in  a  condition  to  be  dried  in  the  open  air,  are  put  into  ovens. 

u  The  figs  thus  prepared  are  thin,  light,  and  of  very  agreeable  taste, 
because  grown  on  a  volcanic  soil,  and  they  command  a  higher  price  on 
the  Naples  market  than  the  dried  figs  from  the  Calabrias  and  other 
localities." 

In  the  neighboring  province  of  Salerno  the  production  of  dried  figs 
begins  to  acquire  a  greater  importance;  that  is  to  say,  in  some  places, 
since  in  the  district  of  Campagna,  according  to  the  Agricultural  Associa- 
tion, the  figs  are  not  fit  to  be  dried.  On  the  other  hand,  the  figs  pre- 
pared in  the  Vallo  of  Lucania  are  esteemed,  and  the  Agricultural 
Association  speaks  of  the  industry: 

"  The  fig  thrives  pretty  well  in  the  southern  part  of  the  district,  and 
particularly  on  lands  bordering  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Its  production 
constitutes  one  of  the  leading  articles  of  trade  of  these  places,  and  the 
dried  figs  of  Agripoli,  where  there  is  a  landing  at  which  ships  take  on 
their  cargoes,  are  renowned  abroad,  especially  in  France  and  America. 

"  The  system  of  desiccation  is  very  simple.  The  figs  are  gathered  when 
well  ripe,  spread  over  a  lattice,  and  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  sun. 
Care  is  taken  to  turn  them  over  alternately  every  two  days,  and  subse- 
quently the  more  perfect  are  separated  from  those  that  are  less  so,  the 
first  constituting  the  better  quality  and  selling  at  a  higher  price,  while 
the  second  are  dried  in  an  oven  at  a  moderate  temperature,  and  form 
the  inferior  grade,  selling  at  a  lower  price." 

Where,  however,  the  preparation  of  dried  figs  assumes  really  the 
character  of  an  agricultural  industry,  being  carried  on  on  a  rather  large 
scale,  is  in  Terra  d'Otranto  and  in  the  three  Calabrias,  that  is  to  say,  in 
the  provinces  of  Cosenza,  Catanzaro,  and  Reggio. 

The  production  of  dried  figs  is  of  great  importance  in  the  province  of 
Lecca,  and  we  find,  in  the  reports  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  this 
country,  that  in  the  only  two  communes,  that  is,  those  of  Cutrofiano 
and  of  Galatina,  there  was  prepared,  some  years  ago,  about  one  million 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  of  this  produce,  and  that  the 
increasing  planting  of  figs  foreboded  a  sensible  augmentation.  But 
there,  also,  the  preparation  of  this  class  of  goods  could  be  much  improved; 
and,  in  fact,  we  read  in  a  report  by  the  Agricultural  Association  of  Lecca: 

"  The  preparation  of  dried  figs  should  be  still  further  improved  by 
introducing  among  us  appropriate  hot  air  stoves  to  accelerate  the  desicca- 
tion of  spotless  fruit,  especially  in  rainy  summers,  and  when  the  harvest 
is  very  plentiful  and  of  good  quality,  and  to  prevent  the  easy  fermenta- 
tion which  often  takes  place  during  the  natural  desiccation  under  the 


—  14  — 

burning  rays  of  the  sun;  as  also  in  the  matter  of  aesthetics,  that  is,  the 
external  appearance,  since  our  figs  may  be  served  on  the  table,  and  are 
not  merely  used,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  to  make  alcohol." 

Three  Agricultural  Associations  of  the  province  of  Cosenza  have  sent 
the  following  answers  to  inquiries  from  the  Ministry  on  this  subject: 

The  Agricultural  Association  of  Cosenza:  "The  dried  figs  represent 
for  this  province  a  pretty  important  article  of  export  trade.  The  prepara- 
tion of  these  dried  figs  is  very  simple.  They  are  dried  in  the  sun,  and 
then  packed  in  small  baskets  made  of  strips  of  chestnut  wood  interwoven 
very  closely.  The  method  of  drying,  though  simple,  is  undoubtedly 
uncertain,  and  it  frequently  happens  that  in  the  latter  part  of  summer, 
or  at  the  beginning  of  autumn,  the  figs  cannot  be  dried,  and  spoil,  owing 
to  repeated  and  excessive  rains;  people  then  have  to  resort  to  the  arti- 
ficial heat  of  ovens,  and  the  fruits  prepared  in  such  a  manner  fall  sensibly 
in  price." 

Agricultural  Association  of  Castrovillari:  "Although  the  soil  and 
climate  favor  the  cultivation  of  the  fig  in  this  district,  it  cannot  be  said 
that  the  product  of  confected  dried  figs  forms  the  object  of  a  large  trade, 
either  at  home  or  abroad.  They  are  never  prepared  in  any  other  way 
but  by  drying  in  the  sun,  and  sometimes  cooking  in  the  oven,  especially 
those  of  inferior  quality,  called  Fichi  bruni  (dark  figs),  on  that  account." 

Agricultural  Association  of  Paola:  "Some  of  the  dried  figs  prepared 
in  this  district  are  exported,  and  a  great  quantity  forwarded  to  the  prin- 
cipal markets  of  the  kingdom.  The  greater  part  of  the  dried  figs  put  up 
for  the  trade  are  confected  after  desiccation  in  the  sun.  The  figs  are 
confected  in  various  ways,  being  strung  or  made  into  a  kind  of  tress, 
formed  into  small  globes  wrapped  in  fig  leaves,  or  shaped  like  stars. 
Some  are  stuffed  with  walnuts  or  almonds  and  seasoned  with  thin  shav- 
ings of  citron  peel,  or  cinnamon  or  cloves,  and  then  put  into  the  oven  to 
serve  as  sweetmeats;  or  else  they  are  dipped  into  honey  and  cooked  in 
a  copper-lined  kettle  or  pot,  being  afterwards  put  up  in  varnished  earthen 
vases.  The  dried  figs,  prepared  according  to  the  latter  method,  are  sent 
as  gifts  to  friends,  and  a  very  small  quantity  finds  its  way  to  the  markets 
of  the  principal  cities  of  the  kingdom  and  of  foreign  countries.  These 
figs  are  dried  only  when  perfectly  ripe,  and  care  is  taken  to  preserve 
them  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  and  from  the  dew,  as  well  as 
from  white  frosts.  The  communes  of  this  district  which  do  not  sell  any, 
are:  Paola,  Amantea,  Belvedere,  Marittimo,  Longobardi,  San  Lucido, 
Scalea,  Cleto,  Serra  di  Ajello,  Fiumefreddo,  Santa  Domenica,  Jalao, 
Maiera,  Orsomarso,  and  Verbicaro." 

As  to  the  province  of  Catanzaro,  we  reproduce  here  the  careful  and 
detailed  report  made  to  the  Ministry  by  the  Agricultural  Association 
concerning  all  that  which  relates  to  the  dried  fig  industry: 

"  The  custom  of  drying  the  fruits  of  the  fig  is  very  old,  and  almost 
general  in  the  southern  regions  of  Calabria.  The  output  of  this  in- 
dustry— arising  probably  at  first  as  an  auxiliary  means  to  relieve  the 
economical  wants  of  the  poor  country  people  during  winter,  their  pro- 
duce meeting  with  a  general  welcome  where,  by  reason  of  climate,  the 
fig  does  not  grow  —  advances  in  proportion  as  it  is  favored  by  the 
physico-geographical  conditions  of  the  soil  and  the  special  skill  of 
the  farmers.  The  principles  which  regulate  its  progress  lie  in  the  selec- 
tion of  the  species,  in  the  degree  of  ripeness  of  the  respective  fruits,  in 
the  time  of  their  gathering,  and  in  the  mode  of  drying  them.  Of  the 


—  15  — 

many  figs — counting  over  twenty-four  varieties  in  this  country — the 
only  ones  found,  through  experience,  as  fit  for  the  industry  we  speak  of, 
are  the  Dottati  and  the  Petrongiano — the  fruits  of  the  second  crop 
being  mostly  used;  that  is,  those  growing  after  the  flower  fruits,  from 
the  month  of  August  to  the  end  of  September.  None  of  the  other 
varieties  succeed  here — giving  products  that  are  soft,  viscous,  unsavory, 
and  which  spoil  in  a  short  time.  To  the  choice  of  varieties  must  be 
added  the  complete  maturation  of  the  fruits,  which  must  be  effected 
spontaneously  and  without  violent  means.  In  good  practice  the  figs 
are  considered  as  having  acquired  the  desired  degree  of  ripeness  when 
they  hang  from  their  stalk  vertically  and  are  wrinkled  on  the  surface. 

"  The  state  of  the  atmosphere  when  gathering  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance. The  best  time  for  carrying  on  this  work  is  immediately  after  sun- 
rise, and  properly  after  all  traces  of  dew  have  disappeared  from  the  tree. 
Damp  air,  white  frost,  and  rain  of  any  intensity  endanger  the  success  of 
the  product.  Having  ascertained  the  maturity  of  the  fruits  and  the 
favorable  concurrence  of  the  atmospherical  circumstances,  the  gather- 
ing is  proceeded  with  daily,  particular  care  being  had  not  to  tear  nor 
strip  the  delicate  epicarps  in  any  way,  and  to  pick  each  fruit,  together 
with  its  peduncle.  This  done,  they  are  at  once  spread  horizontally  over 
large  networks  of  canes  previously  arranged  like  raised  floors,  well  aired, 
well  sunned,  and  protected  from  the  dust  which  the  wind  might  cast 
over  them.  The  fruits  successively  gathered  are  laid  over  separate  lat- 
tices, in  order  that  they  may  be  all  subjected  to  a  uniform  treatment. 
They  are  turned  over  several  times  a  day  during  the  whole  period  .of 
desiccation,  and  care  is  taken  to  separate  the  smaller  fruits,  and  those 
of  poorer  grade  or  decayed.  After  twelve  or  fifteen  days  of  such  treat- 
ment, the  figs,  owing  to  the  evaporation  produced  by  the  solar  action, 
become  white  and  dry  externally,  pulpous  and  sugary  internally,  prop- 
erties which  they  preserve  for  several  years,  especially  if  not  kept  in 
fresh  places  and  exposed  to  the  air.  In  fact,  arranged  in  baskets  of  the 
moderate  capacity  of  thirty-three  to  forty-four  pounds  each,  they  with- 
stand long  journeys  by  land  and  by  sea  without  spoiling  at  all.  There 
are  many  here  who,  to  advance  more  diligently  the  drying  of  the  figs, 
cut  them  vertically  into  halves,  and  after  desiccating,  readjust  them  in 
their  natural  position,  and  form  them,  by  the  aid  of  small  cane  sticks, 
into  rectangular  tablets.  Often  there  is  introduced  between  the  two 
parts  of  the  fig  bits  of  walnut  or  small  pieces  of  candied  citron,  to  make 
them  agreeable  to  the  palate. 

"  Whenever  the  season  is  rainy  at  the  time  of  ripening  of  the  figs, 
the  desiccation  is  made  in  ovens,  this  being  done  also  for  the  fruits  that 
are  too  backward  or  become  spoiled  through  any  cause.  These  figs, 
although  of  lower  grade,  acquire  yet  an  exquisite  savor,  and  are  much  in 
demand  among  the  poorer  classes." 

There  are,  in  Reggio  di  Calabria,  great  areas  of  land  planted  to  figs, 
and,  therefore,  the  production  in  that  country  and  the  quantity  of  dried 
fruit  is  great.  Speaking  of  this  industry,  the  Agricultural  Association 
of  the  chief  town  of  that  province  thus  expresses  itself: 

"  The  confection  of  dried  figs  is  effected  in  our  country  by  gathering 
the  fruits  when  perfectly  ripe,  and  especially  those  of  autumn,  the 
seconda  mano,  or  second  crop. 

"  From  these  the  largest  are  chosen,  cut  in  two  lengthwise,  spread 
over  large  hurdles,  and  exposed  to  the  sun  to  dry.  When  the  figs  thus 


—  16  — 

prepared  appear  dried,  they  are  strung  on  small  canes,  forming  tresses 
of  various  sizes,  or  made  into  squares,  called  tavolieri,  or  similar  odd 
designs. 

"  The  smaller  figs  are  dried  whole  as  picked,  and  preserved  separate, 
they  being  known  under  the  name  of  cuzzoli" 

Other  notes  on  the  same  subject  are  furnished  by  the  Agricultural 
Association  of  Palme,  which  says: 

"  The  figs  grown  in  this  district  are  eaten  fresh,  and  what  little  is  left 
over  are  dried  for  winter  use  in  well-regulated  families.  As  a  general 
rule,  the  dried  figs  consumed  in  this  district  come  from  the  neighboring 
district  of  Gerace,  where  there  are  very  large  plantations  of  that  sort  of 
tree.  The  preparation  of  these  figs  is  effected  with  little  care.  The 
larger  ones  are  cut  longitudinally  down  to  the  stalk,  and  spread  con- 
fusedly over  small  hurdles.  These  are  exposed  to  the  sun,  and  in  the 
mountainous  regions,  where  the  figs  are  late  in  ripening,  their  desiccation 
is  completed  in  bake  ovens." 

We  have  also  reports  from  the  Agricultural  Association  of  Gerace  on 
the  importance  of  the  production  of  dried  figs,  which  is  said  to  be  a 
source  of  great  profit  for  the  district.  The  figs  grow  to  perfection  in  that 
territory,  but,  as  confessed  by  the  association,  their  drying  is  rather 
defective.  Generally  the  figs  are  picked  when  imperfectly  ripe,  then 
cut  in  halves  and  exposed  to, the  rays  of  the  sun  over  hurdles,  care 
being  taken  to  turn  them  often.  After  the  fruits  thus  treated  are  dried, 
they  are  strung  on  cane  strips,  or  else  on  thin  green  withes,  and  exposed 
anew  to  the  sun,  or  to  artificial  heat,  to  complete  their  preparation. 

The  soil  and  climate  of  the  greater  islands,  Sicily  and  Sardinia,  are 
no  less  adapted  to  the  culture  of  the  fig  than  those  of  Calabria,  and  the 
production  of  this  fruit  in  that  part  of  the  country  is  large. 

The  Agricultural  Association  of  Palermo  says  that  the  best  quality  of 
dried  figs  produced  in  this  province  come  from  the  communes  of  San 
Fratello  and  Pollina,  in  the  Madonie.  The  preparation  is  of  the  simplest, 
and  generally  solar  heat  alone  is  used.  "As  to  the  preparation,"  says 
the  association  just  mentioned,  "the  figs  most  prized  are  those  disposed 
in  tablets,  which  last  longer  and  are  preserved  better.  They  have  also 
those  that  are  cut  and  then  arranged  in  pairs  in  form  of  tresses,  which 
become  mellower  and  preserve  a  greater  quantity  of  saccharine  matter. 
There  are,  lastly,  the  figs  called  Messinesi,  or  Neri,  which  are  dried  sepa- 
rately, without  being  cut,  and,  as  they  preserve  their  skin,  become 
coriaceous,  and  keep  longer  than  the  others." 

For  the  province  of  Messina,  we  have  the  following  notes  from  the 
same  Agricultural  Association : 

"  The  dried  figs  of  this  district  may  be  considered  as  a  commercial 
product  intended  more  for  home  consumption  than  for  export.  In  fact, 
some  small  vessels  from  Trapani  and  Naples  come  into  the  port  of 
Milazzo,  in  the  month  of  October,  to  take  cargoes  of  this  produce  and 
transport  them  to  Trapani  or  to  Naples.  The  islands  of  Lipari,  which 
give  the  most  exquisite  figs  of  the  district,  send  also  their  small  produc- 
tion abroad.  The  city  of  Messina,  on  the  contrary,  receives  dried  figs 
from  the  nearest  Calabria.  Everything  considered,  however,  we  can 
reckon  that  the  production  is  limited  to  the  consumption  of  the  inhab- 
itants. 

"The  dried  figs  are  prepared  in  the  following  manner: 

"The  figs  are  picked  rather  ripe;  then  they  are  cut  through  the  mid- 


die  with  a  knife  and  spread  over  hurdles  in  the  sun.  The  fruit  being 
dried  internally,  the  side  of  the  skin  is  turned  up.  When  well  dried 
the  villagers  perform  the  operation  of  putting  the  fruit  a  pania,  as  they 
commonly  call  it  there.  The  pania  is  composed  of  the  sixth  part  of 
canes  cut  to  a  point,  all  the  figs  being  fixed  two  by  two,  between  two  of 
these  canes;  thus  they  form  quadrangular  plates  about  twenty  inches 
in  length,  and  of  the  width  of  a  fig  that  has  been  opened  and  spread 
out;  that  is  to  say,  about  four  inches.  These  panie  are  exposed  for  a 
few  days  to  the  sun  so  as  to  dry  them  still  better.  The  harvest  and 
desiccation  being  wholly  completed,  the  farmers  wash  all  the  panie  with 
fresh  water  and  set  them  out  in  the  sun  for  another  day.  All  this  being 
done,  the  figs  are  preserved  for  the  winter  in  chests  or  pantries,  or  else 
they  are  sold  to  speculators." 

Information  still  more  precise  than  the  preceding  is  given  for  the 
province  of  Catania  by  the  Agricultural  Association,  which,  in  answer 
to  queries  from  the  Ministry  on  this  subject,  thus  expresses  itself: 

"  The  cultivation  of  figs  is  rather  extended  in  the  district  of  Catania, 
and  especially  in  all  the  allodii  (freeholds)  of  the  Etna  region,  where 
the  fig  is  spontaneous.  Many  are  the  varieties  of  figs,  both  early  and 
late,  or  backward,  grown  in  this  district,  and  the  markets  are  supplied 
with  fresh  figs  from  the  end  of  July  to  the  end  of  December. 

"The  first  white  figs  are  called  Auttati,  better  named  Agostani,  and 
the  black,  Fichi  melongiane;  the  last  are  black  and  small,  and  are  called 
Nataline,  or  Natalinedde,  because  they  ripen  about  Christmas  time. 

"The  fresh  figs  are  consumed  where  they  are  produced,  being  as 
healthy  a  food  as  grapes  and  the  opuntia  (Indian  fig  or  prickly  pear). 
Part  of  the  fresh  fruit,  however,  is  exported  outside  the  province,  par- 
ticularly to  some  places  in  the  provinces  of  Syracuse  and  Caltamissetta. 
Both  the  white  and  the  black  figs  which  ripen  in  the  months  of  October 
and  November  are  dried. 

"  The  desiccation  is  done  in  two  ways.  If  the  fig  be  small,  then  it  is 
dried  whole  with  the  peduncle;  but  if  large,  it  is  opened  in  two  with  a 
knife,  and  thus  reduced  it  is  exposed  to  the  solar  rays  over  hurdles,  the 
fleshy  part  up.  In  the  first  case,  the  figs  are  said  to  be  dried  a  passuluni; 
in  the  second,  a  chiappa. 

"As  soon  as  the  figs  are  deprived  of  that  honeyed  juice  which  renders 
them  rather  soft,  they  are  subjected  to  the  following  treatment:  The 
passuluni  are  strung  on  thin  rushes,  or  on  twigs  of  ligara,  called,  also, 
liami,  or  else  on  slivers  of  cane,  which  are  disposed  in  squares,  that  is, 
the  slivers  are  fixed  to  two  strips  of  ferula.  The  figs  a  chiappa  are 
formed  by  the  reunion  of  two  figs,  placed  one  above  the  other  on  the 
fleshy  side,  leaving  outwardly  the  side  of  the  skin.  In  this  manner  the 
two  halves  of  the  chiappa  are  pierced  through  the  center  by  ligara  or 
rushes,  as  above,  and  the  chiappa  are  then  superposed  one  over  the  other. 
The  passuluni  and  the  chiappa,  having  been  united,  water  is  set  to  boil; 
and  while  boiling,  the  figs  thus  prepared  are  immersed  into  it  for  a  few 
minutes,  in  order  to  prevent  any  fermentation  that  might  take  place, 
and  then  they  are  put  out  anew  in  the  sun  to  be  dried  again.  This 
done,  the  passuluni  squares  are  put  away  in  dry  places;  those  that  are 
strung  are  rolled  together  spirally,  and  the  same  is  practiced  for  the  figs 
a  chiappa,  thus  giving  wheels  of  passuluni  figs  and  of  figs  a  chiappa, 
which  are  named  scerti  di  ficu,  and  are  preserved  as  the  best. 

"  In  some  places  the  white  figs  are  distinguished  from  the  black,  and 

2-F 


—  18  — 

there  are  then  white  and  black  passuluni,  and  white  and  hlack  scerti  di 
ficu.  Sometimes,  when  the  figs  are  big  and  pulpous,  they  are  dried  in 
scerti  stripped  of  their  skin;  then  they  are  called  ficu  senza  scorcia. 

"  The  dried  figs  serve  as  a  food  to  both  the  rich  and  poor,  in  winter 
and  spring;  they  are  not  used  later,  since  the  dried  fig  is  held  as  heat- 
ing. The  dried  figs  are  also  exported;  thus,  from  Porto  di  Catania  ship- 
ments are  sent  to  the.Calabrias,  and  even  to  Malta,  from  whence  they  are 
transported  to  still  more  remote  countries.  The  dried  fig  industry  is 
more  extended  than  that  of  prune,  and  that  of  dried  opuntia  (Indian 
figs),  which  are  also  produced  in  the  district  of  Catania." 

The  production  of  dried  figs  is  less  important  in  the  province  of  Syra- 
cuse, concerning  which  the  Agricultural  Association  says: 

"  In  this  district  the  greater  part  of  the  figs  are  consumed  in  the 
natural  state.  What  little  are  dried  are  put  up  expressly  for  local  con- 
sumption. The  dried  figs  are  prepared  by  exposing  the  fruit  cut  in  two 
to  the  action  of  the  sun  until  perfectly  desiccated.  As  soon  as  dried, 
the  halves  are  pressed  together,  and  the  reunited  figs  strung  one  over 
the  other  on  strips  of  canes  or  pointed  switches;  then  they  are  plunged 
two  or  three  times  into  boiling  water,  care  being  taken  to  dry  them 
anew  in  the  sun  afterward.  This  operation  being  completed,  the  dried 
figs  are  offered  for  sale." 

As  to  the  singular  practice  of  immersing  the  figs  in  boiling  water 
as  soon  as  dried,  it  is  explained  in  another  report  of  the  association 
aforesaid, in  which  we  read:  "They  (the  figs  already  dried)  are  plunged 
into  boiling  water  to  destroy  the  myriads  of  minute  eggs  deposited  over 
them  by  insects,  when  the  fruits  are  out  in  the  sun." 

The  same  Agricultural  Association  adds,  that  in  some  parts  of  the 
southern  provinces,  and  perhaps,  also,  in  the  islands  of  Sicily  and  Sar- 
dinia, the  dried  figs  are  strung  on  thin  and  sharp  twigs  from  the  Lycium 
europaeum,  vulgarly  Spino  santa,  or  Spino  di  Christo  (holy  thorn;  thorn 
of  Christ),  which  grows  spontaneously  in  hedges  in  the  olive  region,  and 
in  speaking  of  the  systems  in  use,  says: 

"  The  marked  difference  in  price  is  not  due  entirely  to  the  diversity 
of  material,  but  rather  to  carelessness  and  to  the  imperfect  methods 
followed  among  us  in  drying  the  fruits,  as  also  to  the  negligence  brought 
in  putting  them  up  and  giving  them  the  final  touches  before  offering 
them  to  the  trade.  The  French  and  Spanish  put  up  their  products 
in  such  a  way  as  to  give  them  a  nice  appearance,  even  if  the  quality  of 
these  products  be  not  of  the  best.  Among  us,  on  the  contrary,  even  the 
products  of  excellent  quality  are  most  often  thrust  confusedly  into 
baskets,  bags,  sacks,  or  other  vulgar  recipients,  and  seldom  are  they 
gotten  up  in  a  more  decent  and  proper  manner. 

"  The  bad  systems  of  preparation  in  this  country  are  the  causes  that 
dried  fruits,  and  especially  the  figs,  which  represent  the  greater  part 
thereof,  are  called  for  abroad  almost  exclusively  for  distilling  purposes, 
and  to  make  coffee  powder  or  other  similar  articles.  And  this  will  last 
as  long  as  no  improvement  is  made  in  the  modes  of  desiccation,  and 
until  drying  in  moderately  heated  dry-air  stoves,  as  is  done  elsewhere, 
be  substituted  for  the  imperfect  methods  followed  at  present.  Our  people 
trust  in  the  power  of  the  sun;  but  if  it  fails,  the  fruits  ferment  and 
sour  before  drying,  and  they  at  least  lose  their  fine  appearance.  Then, 
what  cannot  be  dried  in  the  sun  are  put  into  ovens,  which  are  so  strongly 


—  19  — 

heated  that  the  fruits  laid  therein  are  almost  carbonized.  Whatever  be 
the  mode  adopted,  there  is  usually  too  little  attention  paid  to  the  clean- 
liness of  the  hurdles  or  the  tables  over  which  the  fruits  are  spread  to 
dry,  they  being  left  for  a  long  time  exposed  to  all  sorts  of  injuries  on 
the  part  of  insects,  and  covered  with  so  much  dust  as  to  render  them 
black  and  repulsive  to  look  upon." 

Concerning  the  cultivation  of  the  fig  tree  in  Smyrna,  Consul  Stevens, 
of  Smyrna,  reports: 

"  The  cultivation  of  fig  trees  in  the  neighborhood  of  Smyrna,  and  in 
the  interior,  is  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent.  With  the  exception 
of  the  district  of  Aidin,  the  figs  are  excellent  while  fresh,  but  lose  their 
flavor  when  dried.  The  figs  so  well  known  in  the  United  States,  Ger- 
many, and  Russia,  are  grown  in  the  district  of  Aidin.  When  fresh,  these 
figs  are  not  palatable;  when  dried,  they  are  delicious,  and  unrivaled  by 
the  product  of  any  other  locality. 

"  The  planting  of  fig  trees  in  the  valley  of  the  Meander,  where  are 
situated  the  fig  orchards  of  Aidin,  is  performed  in  the  following  man- 
ner: Fresh  branches  (cuttings),  about  two  feet  in  length,  are  cut  from 
the  tree,  and  planted  in  a  field  which  has  been  previously  tilled  seven  or 
eight  times  during  the  warmest  months  of  the  year.  The  fig  cuttings 
must  be  put  in  the  earth  to  the  depth  of  about  one  and  one  half  feet, 
and  at  a  distance  of  about  twenty  paces  one  from  the  other.  As  each 
branch  is  planted,  a  stick  of  the  same  thickness  must  be  put  by  its  side 
to  keep  it  straight.  Three  or  four  times  yearly  the  field  is  tilled  with 
a  plow,  and  then  it  is  sown  with  corn  or  barley. 

"The  fig  tree  gives  fruit  the  seventh  or  eighth  year  of  its  growth, 
but  does  not  attain  its  maximum  of  yield  before  its  twelfth  or  fifteenth 
year.  It  thrives  at  a  distance  of  fifty  miles  from  the  sea. 

u  The  fruit,  perfectly  ripe  and  partly  dried,  falls  from  the  tree  by  itself, 
and  is  collected  by  the  grower  and  spread  in  the  sun  for  several  days,  on 
an  even  and  clean  surface,  until  it  becomes  fit  for  the  market.  The  figs 
of  superior  quality  are  those  collected  when  perfectly  ripe,  and  while 
the  north  wind  blows.  Each  tree  yields  on  an  average  from  forty  to 
one  hundred  pounds  of  fruit.  Trees  one  century  old  usually  yield  from 
two  to  three  hundred  weight.  What  would  seem  extraordinary,  is  the 
fact  that  fig  trees  from  Aidin  planted  in  other  localities  never  give  good 
results;  the  trees  grow  well  and  become  very  strong,  but  yield  fruit 
inferior  in  quality  to  the  commonest  local  variety. 

"  The  dried  figs,  packed  in  hempen  bags  of  a  capacity  of  two  and  one 
fourth  hundred  weight,  are  conveyed  to  Smyrna  by  rail  and  carried  to 
the  fig  market,  where  packers  and  export  merchants  get  their  supplies. 
The  fruit  intended  to  be  put  up  for  export  trade  is  carried  to  the  packing 
establishment,  where  it  is  sorted  into  different  qualities.  It  is  then 
handed  to  workmen,  who  press  it  between  their  thumb  and  forefinger  to 
soften  and  flatten  it,  and  pack  it  in  rows  into  small,  shallow,  wooden 
boxes  or  small  drums.  Packers  in  manipulating  figs  keep  their  hands 
wet  with  sea  water,  as  it  is  claimed  that  brine  hastens  the  sugaring  of 
the  fruit.  Occasionally  laurel  leaves  are  placed  between  the  rows  of 
figs  in  order  to  improve  their  flavor  and  keep  them  free  from  moths. 
Figs  of  inferior  quality  are  packed  in  wicker  baskets  or  small  hempen 


"  In  the  transportation  of  fruits  of  all  kinds  from  the  plantations  to 
Smyrna,  or  to  the  stations  on  the  lines  of  railway  leading  to  Smyrna, 


—  20  — 

camels  are  employed  to  good  advantage,  the  highways  not  being  in  a 
condition  to  permit  of  the  use  of  drags." 

Consul  Marston,  of  Malaga,  Spain,  reports  that  the  process  used  in 
Spain  consists  in  picking  the  figs  when  they  are  entirely  ripe,  and  are 
cured  by  laying  them  on  the  ground  upon  straw  until  they  are  cured  by 
the  sun.  They  are  covered  each  night  to  protect  them  from  the  night 
dampness. 

Throughout  France  the  fig  tree  is  common;  about  Marseilles  it  is  not 
an  object  of  special  culture.  There  they  cull  the  fruit  one  by  one,  when 
perfectly  ripe,  with  great  care,  to  prevent  them  from  bruising  or  sever- 
ing the  fruit  from  the  peduncle.  They  are  then  laid  on  hurdles  and 
exposed  to  the  sun,  and  turned  over  every  now  and  then  until  perfectly 
dried;  that  is,  for  a  period  of  ten  or  fifteen  days,  as  they  claim  that  the 
least  exposure  to  moisture  would  turn  the  figs  black  a*nd  reduce  their 
value  by  at  least  one  half.  These  hurdles  are  taken  in  every  evening, 
to  be  again  taken  out  every  morning.  The  difficulties  of  the  operation 
deter  most  of  the  farmers  there  from  undertaking  it,  excepting  those 
that  own  small  farms,  where  everything  must  be  turned  to  account,  and 
they  cultivate  them  themselves  with  no  other  help  than  that  of  their 
families.  The  Marseillaise  is  considered  there  as  the  best  variety. 

Consul  Heap  reports  that  the  process  of  curing  the  fruit  throughout 
Turkey  consists  of  picking  the  figs  when  ripe  and  spreading  them  out 
to  dry  in  the  sun,  the  sugar  which  they  contain  in  abundance  being 
thus  rendered  available  for  their  preservation,  those  of  better  quality 
being  much  pulled  and  extended  by  hand  during  the  process.  Thus 
prepared,  the  fruit  is  packed  closely  in  barrels,  rush  baskets,  or  wooden 
boxes,  for  commerce. 

Figs  are  grown  largely  in  the  province  of  Turkey,  but  the  quantity  is 
small  compared  with  Smyrna.  A  considerable  quantity  of  inferior 
kinds  of  figs  find  their  way  to  the  Austrian  "  chicory  coffee  makers" 
and  the  French  brandy  distillers.  Much  liquor  labeled  "fine  cham- 
pagne," u  cognac,"  etc.,  owes  its  origin  to  refuse  of  the  Smyrna  fig 
market. 

Consul  Fottion,  of  Mytilene,  reports  "  that  the  kinds  of  figs  producing 
the  figs  of  commerce  there  are  the  Politika  and  the  Asprokoukoiizza,  so 
called,  Politika  from  Constantinople,  and  Asprokoukouzza  from  their 
white  seeds."  These  varieties  there  do  not  require  any  cultivation. 
The  figs  are  dried  in  the  sun,  and  afterwards  are  filled  with  almonds, 
pepper,  and  cinnamon,  and  are  roasted  on  plates  in  ovens.  Aromatic 
leaves  of  laurel  are  added  to  them,  and  they  are  then  packed  in  boxes. 

In  Syria  the  process  of  curing  consists  in  opening  the  fruit,  either  by 
hand  or  cutting  them  with  a  knife,  and  spreading  them  for  three  days 
in  the  sun,  on  dry  ground  or  on  a  straw  mat  placed  on  the  housetops. 
When  dried  they  are  placed  in  palm  leaf  bags  and  pressed  as  much  as 
possible.  The  figs  are  not  gathered  until  they  are  fully  ripe. 

In  Aleppo  the  figs  are  gathered  and  spread  on  mats  in  the  shade  until 
they  get  dried,  and  are  then  placed  in  bags  and  pressed.  The  best  are 
selected,  and  when  dried  are  steamed  to  make  them  fresh,  after  which 
they  are  pressed  between  the  fingers  and  flattened,  and  are  strung  on 
flaxen  threads  to  be  exposed  for  sale. 

In  Damascus  the  figs  are  dried  in  the  sun,  and  are  then  cured  by 
covering  them  with  flour. 

In  Tripoli  (Straits  Settlement)  the  figs  are  gathered  when  fully  ripe, 


_  21  — 

and  after  breaking  the  fruit  a  little  at  the  top  they  are  exposed  to  the 
sun  until  they  become  dried,  and  are  then  boiled  with  fragrant  herbs, 
and  stored  for  the  winter. 

In  Central  America  the  figs  are  gathered,  after  having  fallen  to  the 
ground  the  previous  day,  and  laid  in  the  sun  (on  mats  made  of  reeds) 
until  dried,  which  takes  four  or  five  days.  They  are  then  put  in  closed 
boxes  to  sweat  a  little.  Before  packing  they  are  spread  in  the  sun  just 
long  enough  to  get  warm,  and  are  then  pressed  in  seroons  of  rawhide. 
They  do  not  pack  in  boxes,  because  they  claim  that  the  fruit  gets  worm 
eaten. 

In  Spain  they  cure  the  figs  by  gathering  them  when  perfectly  ripe  and 
when  they  commence  to  dry  on  the  trees.  They  are  then  placed  upon 
lattice  work  made  of  canes,  or  slips  of  boards,  or  on  rough  straw  mats 
placed  on  the  ground,  allowing,  if  possible,  the  air  to  circulate  under 
them.  The  figs  in  a  few  days,  when  dried,  are  pressed  one  by  one  into 
shape,  to  facilitate  their  curing.  When  cured,  and  lastly,  the  figs  are 
pressed  downwards  on  a  table  to  give  them  a  round  shape;  then  they 
are  packed  in  boxes  lined  with  paper. 

CALIFORNIA    METHODS. 

I  have  carried  on  very  extensive  experiments  in  curing  or  processing 
the  fig  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  best  method  among  those  now 
in  use  in  this  State,  as  well  as  many  which  are  published  as  emanating 
from  foreign  countries,  and  supposed  to  be  the  true  processes  in  use  there. 
Through  the  aid  of  American  consulates  I  obtained  the  foreign  processes 
herein  mentioned,  as  reported  by  the  various  associations.  While  these 
processes  are  not  such  as  can  be  put  into  use  in  this  State,  conditions 
being  so  different,  yet  they  have  been  the  means  by  which  our  experi- 
ments have  been  furthered. 

I  procured  fruit  from  many  districts  throughout  the  State  and  sub- 
mitted it  to  nearly  all  the  foreign  processes,  and  in  almost  every  instance 
they  proved  unsatisfactory;  no  doubt  due  to  different  conditions,  cli- 
mate, soil,  etc. 

During  the  past  few  years  we  have  accomplished  a  great  deal  in 
experimenting,  and  have  been  able  to  process  fruit  that  is  considered 
the  best  in  any  market.  This  is  true  not  only  of  the  fig,  but  also  of 
other  fruits,  and  they  are  to-day  selling  far  in  advance  of  the  foreign 
article. 

The  process  in  itself  should  be  simple,  and  one  that  can  be  followed 
by  growers,  and  also  must  be  inexpensive.  Of  all  the  experiments 
made  there  were  but  two  that  I  feel  warranted  in  recommending,  as  they 
are  simple  and  inexpensive,  and  such  as  can  be  put  into  use  by  the 
ordinary  fruit  grower. 

Figs,  as  a  rule,  do  not  stand  as  much  sulphuring  as  other  fruits,  and 
require  the  most  careful  attention.  They  cannot  be  transported  any 
considerable  distance  to  be  processed,  as  they  sour  in  transit,  and  then 
cannot  be  used  at  all.  The  only  way  that  I  find  figs  can  be  transported 
safely  is  by  subjecting  them  as  soon  as  picked  to  sulphur  fumes.  This 
stops  fermentation,  and  after  the  figs  have  been  exposed  to  the  sun  for 
half  an  hour  or  an  hour,  they  can  be  packed  and  shipped  to  their  desti- 
nation; but  the  packages  should  not  be  large,  as  the  heat  generated  in 
bulk  would  again  start  fermentation,  which  even  reexposure  to  the  sun 


—  22  — 

would  not  check.  It  is. not  necessary  to  sulphur  figs  more  than  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes.  As  stated  before,  they  will  not  stand  as  much  sulphur- 
ing as  other  fruits. 

Figs  grown  on  low,  moist  lands  which  are  not  suitable  for  fig  culture, 
change  their  characteristics,  so  much  so  as  to  deceive  some  of  the  best 
experts  in  fig  culture.  Those  grown  on  soil  of  a  higher  altitude  and 
under  most  favorable  conditions  also  change,  and  this  has  caused  many 
to  believe  that  they  have  produced  something  new,  and  to  give  the  sup- 
posed novelty  a  name  of  their  own.  This  has  greatly  added  to  the 
already  much  confused  nomenclature  of  the  fig.  The  figs  grown  on 
low,  wet  lands,  and  in  low  lands  in  the  valleys,  I  find  to  have  a  much 
thicker  skin,  a  larger  cavity,  and  while  the  fruit  is  much  larger,  it  con- 
tains a  superabundance  of  moisture,  which,  after  being  picked,  if  the 
fruit  is  not  properly  treated,  becomes  sour;  while  those  grown  on  lands 
suitable  for  fig  culture  and  of  higher  altitude,  possess  much  better  keep- 
ing qualities,  contain  much  more  saccharine  matter,  remain  more  moist 
without  souring,  and  in  every  respect  are  much  better  figs.  In  drying, 
these  show  about  as  follows:  The  figs  grown  on  low,  wet  lands  become 
coarse,  with  less  pulp  and  much  tougher  skin;  those  grown  in  a  higher 
altitude,  and  on  valley  lands  suitable  for  fig  culture,  are  generally  not 
as  large,  but  the  grain  is  much  finer,  the  skin  much  thinner,  the  fruit 
contains  much  more  saccharine  matter,  and  when  dried  does  not  resemble 
the  fig  of  the  same  variety  grown  under  unfavorable  conditions,  on  low, 
wet  lands,  excepting  in  some  of  its  botanical  characteristics.  Those 
grown  on  low,  wet  lands  are  generally  lacking  in  flavor  and  are  unpal- 
atable, and  appear  in  many  instances  as  if  part  of  the  inside  had  been 
squeezed  out;  while  those  grown  under  better  conditions  are  very  fleshy, 
so  much  so  that  when  pressed  they  burst  out  at  the  end;  while  the 
former  in  being  pressed  show  but  little  inside  and  the  skin  seldom 
bursts. 

There  is  such  a  confusion  in  the  nomenclature  of  the  fig,  that  for  the 
present  I  shall  not  mention  any  variety  but  the  White  Adriatic  (Gal.), 
this  being  to-day  the  best  fig  in  California,  as  far  as  we  know,  for  drying. 

During  the  past  few  years  a  great  many  fig  trees  and  cuttings  of  many 
varieties  have  been  imported  into  this  State.  After  they  began  fruiting, 
nurserymen  and  others,  having  become  confused  as  to  their  origin  or 
names,  at  once  rechristened  them,  giving  them  popular  names.  In  one 
instance  I  found  the  fig  known,  within  a  radius  of  a  few  miles,  under 
at  least  seven  different  names,  and  no  nurseryman  had  taken  the  pains 
to  investigate  its  true  name.  I  also  found,  upon  investigation,  that  the 
same  confusion  existed  abroad.  The  Minister  of  Agriculture  for  Italy 
found  this  same  difficulty,  and  was  unable,  in  his  own  province,  to 
identify  more  than  three  varieties,  yet,  in  that  same  district,  more  than 
one  hundred  varieties  had  been  previously  described  by  nurserymen 
and  others. 

The  same  confusion  was  found  in  the  names  of  the  fig  tree  and  cuttings 
imported  from  France.  Trees  were  once  received  from  a  district  in 
France  under  certain  names,  and  from  that  same  district  trees  were 
received  under  entirely  different  names.  Those  varieties  most  promi- 
nent, however,  although  not  more  than  a  dozen,  could  be  traced  by 
following  the  California  popular  names  that  had  been  given  them,  but 
this  would  hardly  be  of  any  use,  except  for  identification. 

Conditions  in  this  State  are  so  varied  that,  as  I  have  stated  before, 


—  23  — 

figs  grown  in  different  localities  change  their  characteristics  so  much  as 
to  prevent  identification,  unless  by  an  expert  in  that  line.  In  one  of 
the  valleys  I  found  the  White  Adriatic  (Cal.)  grown  under,  what  seemed 
to  me,  perfect  conditions.  The  fruit  was  the  largest  of  that  variety  that 
I  had  ever  seen,  but  the  color  differed  so  much  that  not  until  I  made  a 
critical  examination  did  I  become  convinced  that  it  was  the  White 
Adriatic.  The  seams  on  the  surface  had  opened  very  wide,  and  instead 
of  the  fruit  possessing  a  light,  yellowish  green  tint  on  its  surface,  it  was 
as  green  as  the  leaves  themselves.  There  had  been  several  boxes  of  figs 
picked  that  were  dead  ripe — that  is,  they  had  wilted  on  the  trees — yet 
among  those  boxes  not  a  fig  was  found  to  contain  any  yellowish  color 
whatever;  everything  was  of  a  deep  green  color,  yet  all  the  figs  were 
dead  ripe.  This,  however,  was  a  singular  thing,  and  nowhere  else  had 
I  ever  seen  this  strange  occurrence.  Possibly  it  may  have  been  due  to 
certain  climatic  influences,  or  the  forcing  by  irrigation;  when  such  figs 
are  processed  they  do  not  become  as  nice  as  those  which  assume  a  yel- 
lowish tint,  unless  subjected  to  strong  sulphur  fumes,  which  generally 
deteriorates  the  quality  of  the  fruit. 

In  the  coast  counties  the  fig  ripens  much  later  than  in  the  interior 
valleys,  generally  commencing  to  ripen  when  those  in  the  interior  val- 
leys are  nearly  or  about  gone. 

The  following  are  the  two  processes  which  I  think  can  be  put  to  use 
by  the  fruit  grower,  and  such  as  make  good  and  marketable  fruit.  The 
greatest  care  must  be  taken  in  the  preparation  of  the  fig,  as  any  neglect 
will  cause  the  loss  of  a  great  deal  of  fruit. 

First  Process. — The  figs  are  allowed  to  shrivel  on  the  trees,  then  they 
are  picked  and  placed  on  trays,  bloom  end  down.  The  trays  used  are 
made  of  slats  to  allow  ventilation  from  the  bottom.  The  fruit  is  gen- 
erally cut  with  a  sharp  knife  or  shears,  but  a  man,  after  having  worked 
awhile,  can  pick  the  figs  without  the  aid  of  a  knife  or  shears,  by  a  sim- 
ple twist  of  the  fingers.  The  trays,  having  been  filled,  are  placed  in  the 
smoke  house.  These  smoke  houses  should  not  be  too  large,  and  neither 
should  the  trays,  for  it  is  difficult  to  handle  such  heavy  fruit,  and  this 
also  prevents  bruising.  After  the  trays  have  been  placed  in  the  smoke 
house  the  door  is  shut,  and  the  sulphur  lighted  and  allowed  to  burn. 
The  greatest  care  must  be  taken  in  the  amount  of  sulphur  that  is 
burned,  for  if  too  much  is  used  the  figs  will  have  a  smoky  taste,  and 
the  figs  will  become  bleached;  if  not  enough  is  burned,  the  sulphur 
cannot  act  on  the  figs,  and  when  dried  will  not  possess  that  light  color 
so  much  desired,  but  will  retain  part  of  the  greenish  tint,  especially  the 
part  that  rested  on  the  trays.  The  sulphur  should  be  burned  at  least  two 
feet  below  the  lower  tray  to  prevent  any  from  depositing  on  the  fruit. 

There  is  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  length  of  time  the  fruit 
should  be  left  in  the  sulphur  box,  or  smoke  house,  and  also  as  to  how 
long  the  mass  of  sulphur  ignited  under  it,  which  produces  the  fumes, 
should  remain  burning. 

Fruit  cannot  be  well  sulphured  or  fumed  in  less  than  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  from  the  time  it  is  placed  in  the  box,  as  at  least  ten  minutes 
are  required  for  a  mass  of  sulphur  to  generate  enough  fumes  or  smoke 
to  entirely  fill  every  space  of  the  smoke  house.  However,  after  the  box 
or  house  is  filled  with  fumes,  five  to  ten  minutes  longer  should  be  enough 
time  for  the  fumes  to  accomplish  their  effect;  it  could  do  no  further  good 
if  the  fruit  should  be  allowed  to  remain  a  longer  time.  The  object,  there- 


—  24  — 

fore,  in  leaving  the  fruit  in  the  sulphur  house  a  longer  time  is  for  the 
purpose  of  allowing  it  to  undergo  an  artificial  sweat  to  reduce  the  skin, 
which  is  done  by  the  heat  generated  by  the  inclosed  fumes.  This  is  a 
great  advantage,  for  after  the  fruit  has  gone  through  this  artificial  sweat 
and  been  placed  in  the  sun,  the  skin  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  the 
fruit  turned  somewrhat  transparent. 

The  sulphur  must  not  be  burned  too  near  the  fruit,  as  considerable 
pure  sulphur  is  liberated,  and  the  bottoms  of  the  trays  being  open,  con- 
siderable fruit  would  be  damaged  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  liberated 
sulphur.  The  fruit  on  the  lower  tray,  instead  of  bleaching  out  white, 
will  become  of  a  pinkish  color,  and  will  not  dry.  Such  fruit  generally 
remains  in  the  sun  puffed  up,  seemingly  full  of  air.  The  reason  for  this 
is  that  the  fumes  of  the  sulphur  are  heavy,  and  take  with  them  con- 
siderable pure  sulphur,  which  is  liberated  and  is  deposited  on  the  fruit. 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  exact  amount  of  sulphur  to  be  used. 
After  the  room  is  well  filled  with  smoke,  which  can  be  seen  through  the 
trap-door,  it  is  about  time  to  withdraw  the  sulphur-pan.  The  smoke  or 
fumes  are  not  allowed  to  escape,  but  the  fruit  is  allowed  to  remain,  with 
closed  doors,  till  it  is  taken  out  and  placed  in  the  sun,  and  should  not 
remain  more  than  twenty  minutes. 

I  find  it  best  to  pick  the  fruit  in  the  morning,  for  after  it  has  been 
placed  in  the  smoke  house  and  once  been  subjected  to  the  sulphur  fumes, 
it  may  be  placed  in  the  sun,  where  it  bleaches  out  beautifully,  much 
better  than  it  would  later  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun 
are  an  advantage.  The  fruit  picked  and  sulphured  in  the  afternoon,  by 
the  time  it  is  placed  in  the  sun,  the  sun  will  be  so  weak  that  the  fruit 
will  not  bleach  out  as  well.  Those  placed  out  in  the  morning  make  a 
much  better  fruit — pliable,  soft,  and  the  skin  is  reduced  considerably. 
After  the  fruit  has  been  exposed  to  the  sun  for  an  hour,  it  is  turned 
over  by  hand.  This  is  done  to  allow  the  part  resting  on  the  trays  to 
also  become  bleached,  as  that  part  will  retain  its  original  color  if  not 
turned  over. 

After  the  fruit  has  been  out  two  or  three  days  it  is  time  to  handle  it; 
that  is,  the  fruit  can  be  rolled  between  the  fingers,  which  is  called,  in 
many  instances,  "  finger  pulling  "  or  "  rolling.'7  This  is  done  to  prevent 
the  figs  getting  hard  in  drying.  The  operation  can  be  performed  every 
day  if  the  operator  so  chooses,  but  it  is  not  necessary  unless  the  figs  have 
dried  considerably.  After  the  figs  have  been  out  at  least  four  days,  have 
dried  away  considerably,  and  have  been  turned  over  and  rolled  between 
the  fingers  from  time  to  time,  as  above  stated,  they  can  be  removed  from 
the  sun  and  placed  in  the  shade.  This  prevents  the  fruit  from  getting 
hard. 

After  all  signs  of  moisture  on  the  surface  have  disappeared  the  fruit 
is  placed  in  wire  baskets  and  dipped  into  boiling  water,  the  hotter  the 
better.  This  dipping  closes  up  the  pores,  kills  all  germs,  and  again 
reduces  the  skin  somewhat,  and  gives  the  fruit  a  beautiful  color.  It  is 
only  necessary  to  dip  the  fruit  into  the  water  and  raise  it  up  immedi- 
ately two  or  three  times.  If  allowed  to  remain  too  long  in  the  water  it 
will  be  rendered  sour,  and  a  great  deal  of  the  true  fig  flavor  will  thus  be 
lost,  which  must  then  be  substituted  by  other  means  or  the  article  will 
be  inferior. 

After  the  dipping  the  water  is  allowed  to  entirely  drain  off  from  the 
figs,  and  they  are  then  thrown  into  a  pile,  either  on  a  clean  wooden  floor 


—  25  — 

or  table,  or  bins,  and  from  time  to  time  are  shoveled  backwards  and  for- 
wards until  they  become  cold.  When  the  moisture  has  entirely  evapo- 
rated it  is  then  time  to  pack  them. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  processing  figs  in  this  way  there  will  be 
two  or  three  grades  of  fruit,  at  least  two;  the  first  of  the  light  pinkish 
color,  and  the  second  a  much  darker  color.  They  should  then  be  as- 
sorted, and  the  grades  packed  separately.  The  reason  for  this  varia- 
tion in  color  is  the  unevenness  in  the  drying  of  the  figs  on  the  tree. 
Generally  in  picking  it  is  impossible  to  have  the  fruit  of  about  the  same 
degree  of  ripeness.  That  which  has  shriveled  considerably  will  not 
become  as  light  in  color  as  the  fruit  that  is  less  shriveled;  in  fact,  the 
fruit  that  has  not  shriveled  at  all  becomes  the  best  color.  The  culls  are 
assorted,  and  the  best  fruit  put  into  boxes  in  layers,  not  artistically 
arranged,  but  simply  thrown  in,  and  between  the  layers  fine  white  granu- 
lated sugar  is  dusted,  and  then  the  boxes  put  under  heavy  pressure. 
The  sugar  serves  to  cover  up  many  defects  in  the  fruit.  These,  after 
being  packed  a  few  weeks,  become  a  good  marketable  article,  which,  of 
course,  does  not  bring  as  much  as  the  two  grades  above  mentioned.  The 
fruit  that  cannot  be  used  in  packing,  that  is,  the  discarded  culls,  is 
placed  in  barrels  or  sacks,  and  can  be  sold  as  hog  feed,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  vinegar,  to  which  purpose  they  are  well  suited. 

Second  Process. — The  fruit  is  picked  from  the  tree  when  it  has  shriveled 
considerably,  and  is  placed  on  trays  without  sulphuring.  The  trays  are 
made  of  slats,  and  placed  on  staging,  which  should  be  sufficiently  high 
from  the  ground  to  allow  a  free  circulation  of  air  beneath  the  trays.  It 
is  best  to  place  the  bloom  end  of  the  fruit  towards  the  rising  sun,  as  that 
part  requires  more  heat  than  the  stem  end.  After  the  bloom  end  has 
dried,  the  stem  end,  containing  very  little  moisture,  will  dry  with  less 
heat.  This,  however,  can  be  done  without  much  handling,  as  the  figs, 
having  been  set  all  one  way,  and  as  the  sun  in  the  afternoon  changes  to 
the  west  side,  the  tray  is  simply  turned  around  instead  of  the  fruit. 
-  This  brings  the  end  of  the  fruit  in  direct  contact  with  the  sun  during 
the  hours  of  drying.  After  the  fruit  has  been  out  two  or  three  days 
"finger  pulling"  or  "rolling'7  begins.  The  figs  are  rolled  between  the 
fingers,  and  turned  over  on  the  trays.  This  operation  can  be  performed 
as  much  as  the  operator  pleases  without  injury  to  the  fruit. 

After  the  fruit  is  dried  it  is  placed  in  boxes  in  the  storehouse;  the 
boxes  need  not  be  filled  to  the  top,  and  can  be  piled  one  on  another. 
They  are  kept  in  these  boxes  for  at  least  six  or  eight  days,  to  allow  them 
to  undergo  a  natural  sweat.  Every  day,  however,  they  are  emptied  from 
one  box  into  another,  to  allow  the  part  resting  on  the  bottom  to  come  to 
the  surface;  in  this  way  they  never  become  moldy. 

After  the  moisture  among  the  figs  has  disappeared,  they  are  ready  for 
packing.  They  can  then  be  assorted  into  as  many  grades  as  the  opera- 
tor chooses;  however,  it  is  unnecessary  to  pack  more  than  three  grades, 
and  seldom  more  than  two. 

Before  packing,  the  figs  are  dipped  into  a  solution  of  hot  water  con- 
taining a  little  glycerine  or  glucose.  This  will  serve  to  give  the  fruit  a 
gloss  which  it  does  not  possess  before  dipping.  Bay  leaves  are  placed 
amongst  the  figs  in  packing  in  the  boxes,  which  serve  to  give  the  fruit 
an  attractive  appearance.  It  is  claimed  that  they  keep  away  insects, 
but  such  is  not  the  case. 

Use  of  Sulphur. — Sulphur  is  used,  and  the  process  properly  should  be 


—  26  — 

called  "  bleaching,"  as  it  bleaches  the  fruit.  It  is  only  the  outer  surface 
of  the  fruit  that  is  exposed  to  the  sulphurous  fumes.  These  fumes 
destroy  any  germs  that  are  attached  to  it,  or  produced  right  on  the 
fruit. 

The  chemical  action  of  the  sulphur  fumes  is  to  bleach  the  fruit  on  the 
exterior  surface;  it  does  not  enter  the  interior  surface,  as  the  fig,  whether 
or  not  it  be  opened  at  the  bloom  end,  is  generally  full  of  air,  which  pre- 
vents the  sulphur  fumes  from  entering,  and  even  if  they  found  entrance 
no  damage  would  be  done.  The  sulphur  fumes  determine  the  color  of 
the  dried  fruits,  and  sulphur  is  used  simply  to  stop  discoloration  of  the 
outside  and  brighten  the  fruit. 

The  common  method  of  burning  sulphur  under  fruit  and  leaving  it 
burn  for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  to  render  the  fruit  transparent 
and  of  a  light  color,  rather  tends  to  detract  from  its  true  flavor  than  to 
add  to  its  quality.  Fruit  should  only  be  confined  in  sulphur  fumes 
with  the  objects  above  stated.  Figs  are  not  cooked  for  eating,  and  differ 
in  this  respect  from  other  fruits;  therefore,  the  process  should  be  one  to 
retain  that  flavor  so  essential  in  a  marketable  article  for  consumption 
in  a  raw  state. 

The  best  method  I  know  of  for  generating  sulphur  fumes,  in  the  least 
time,  consists  in  placing  a  heavy  one  and  one  half  or  two-inch  iron  plate 
on  a  small  kerosene  stove  in  the  smoke  house.  When  this  iron  plate 
becomes  hot,  but  not  so  hot  as  to  cause  the  sulphur  to  flame,  the  fire  is 
extinguished,  and  the  sulphur  is  spread  on  the  plate.  As  soon  as  the 
sulphur  comes  in  contact  with  the  plate  a  dense  smoke  is  liberated, 
which  fills  the  smoke  house  in  a  few  minutes,  and  in  much  less  time 
than  when  ignited.  It  has  also  the  advantage  that  gases  and  sulphur 
are  not  liberated  and  deposited  on  the  fruit  as  when  allowed  to  burn. 

FOREIGN   VARIETIES. 

In  the  report  of  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  of  Italy,  for  1886,  the 
following  very  interesting  account  appears  concerning  varieties: 

We  have  the  Fico  gentile  and  the  Fico  portoghese,  both  precocious. 
The  first  is  common,  under  the  indicated  name,  in  the  Neapolitan  dis- 
trict, in  the  province  of  Rome,  and  in  the  Tuscan  province,  in  some 
parts  of  which,  as  at  Pistoia,  Lucca,  and  in  Lunigiana,  it  is  known 
under  the  name  of  Fico  d'oro  (golden  fig).  According  to  some,  this  fig, 
the  earliest  of  all,  would  be  the  Tiburtinus  of  Pliny,  or  at  least  an  anal- 
ogous variety.  The  Fico  portoghese  is  very  common  in  the  Florentine 
country,  and  does  not  seem  to  have  issued  from  Tuscany,  as  it  is  not 
found  in  Liguria,  nor  in  Milanese,  nor  in  Umbria,  nor  in  Romagna,  nor 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Rome.  It  is  uncertain  whether  it  be  cultivated 
in  the  southern  provinces  or  in  the  islands. 

The  following  varieties  are  backward  and  uniferous  (yielding  only  one 
crop  yearly) :  The  Verdini,  very  common  in  Tuscany,  and  different  from 
the  Verdini  of  the  Veronese  and  from  the  Verdecci  of  the  Bolognese; 
the  Brogiotti  neri  (black  September  figs),  universally  appreciated 
throughout  Italy;  the  Brogiotti  bianchi  (white  September  figs)  of  Li- 
guria, which  some  people  esteem  nearly  as  much  as  the  delicious  figs 
which  come  from  Smyrna  in  the  dried  state;  the  Fichi  brianzosi,  native 
of  Brianza,  and  much  cultivated  in  Milanese,  and  finally,  the  Datteri 
(date)  and  the  Dottati,  the  latter  of  which  is  deemed  one  of  the  most 


—  27  — 

exquisite  varieties.  It  appears  that  the  Dottati  figs  of  the  Tuscans, 
Ottato  of  the  Neapolitans,  does  not  differ  from  the  one  which  Pliny  says 
was  brought  by  Lucius  Vitellius  from  Soria  to  his  villa  at  Alba,  and 
which  corresponds  to  the  Grascello  of  Mattioli,  to  the  Binellone  of  Spezia 
and  of  Chiavari,  to  the  Binello  or  Fico  di  Napoli  (Naples  fig)  of  the 
Genoese,  to  the  Gentile  of  Voltri,  to  the  Neapolitano  of  Finale,  to  the 
Datterese  or  the  Calabria  of  the  remaining  western  Liguria,  and  lastly, 
to  the  fig  Delia  goccia  or  Delia  goccia  d'oro  of  the  hills  of  the  Lombardic 
Apennines  from  Voghera  to  Bologna. 

The  demand  for  Tuscan  figs  is  very  small,  and  for  this  reason  they 
are  mostly  reduced  into  powder  to  make  coffee,  as  is  practiced  in  some 
parts  of  Germany.  The  variety  used  in  the  preparation  of  dried  figs  is 
called  Dottati,  which  they  peel  (after  that  they  are  said  mondi,  clean) 
and  dry  in  the  sun,  then  season  with  a  few  grains  of  anise  seed,  and 
finally  dispose  in  disks  or  loaves  more  or  less  large,  resembling  cheese 
in  shape.  These  figs,  besides  their  very  sweet  and  delicate  flavor,  pre- 
serve a  whiteness  rarely  seen  in  even  the  best  figs  imported  from  Smyrna 
or  other  places  in  Greece  and  European  Turkey.  At  other  times  these 
same  Dottati  figs  are  not  stripped  of  their  skin,  but  they  are  cut  in 
halves  and  seasoned  with  anise  or  fennel  seed,  and  then  united  again 
two  by  two,  or,  as  the  Tuscans  say,  a  piccie,  or  else  they  are  dried, 
strung  on  thin  branchlets  of  genet  or  osier  (willow).  The  black-skinned 
figs  are  more  common,  and  they  are  neither  sliced  nor  seasoned,  but 
they  are  dried  in  the  sun;  and  if  this  is  not  sufficient  they  are  put  into 
ovens  immediately  after  the  confection  of  the  loaf. 

Eleme*  is  not  a  variety,  as  many  have  been  led  to  suppose.  It 
denotes  the  method  of  preparation.  Figs  called  Eleme  are  those  selected 
of  extra  large  size  and  fine  appearance,  and,  as  such,  command  higher 
prices. 

Among  the  biferous  varieties  may  be  mentioned  the  Fico  albo  (white 
fig),  very,  abundant  in  Tuscany,  and  grown  also,  but  under  various 
names,  in  the  territory  of  Como,  in  Vogherese,  in  Piacentino,  in  Bologna, 
in  Modena,  and  in  Parmigiano;  the  San  Piero  fig  of  the  Tuscans,  which 
is  the  Fico  arbicone  of  the  Genoese,  the  Nero  of  the  Sardinians,  Minna 
di  shiaro  of  the  Sicilians,  and  the  Fallogiana  or  Pitilonga  of  the  Abruz- 
zese.  Beyond  the  Apennines  this  fig  does  not  seem  to  spread  much, 
and,  indeed,  it  is  not  known  by  either  the  Lombards  or  the  Piedmontese. 

THE    FIG    IN   CALIFORNIA. 

While  a  great  deal  of  attention  has  been  given  to  the  fig  in  this  State, 
it  has  so  far  been  largely  in  the  line  of  experimenting,  and  dried  figs 
have  not  as  yet  been  produced  in  any  great  commercial  quantities. 

*  Eleme,  a  name  given  to  Smyrna  raisins;  the  best  quality  are  known  as"ElemeV' 
Raisins  of  a  somewhat  inferior  quality  are  known  as  "Lexias."  (Enc.  Brit.,  V®1.  XX, 
p.  258.) 

Elemi,  a  resin,  thus  termed  in  modern  pharmacy,  obtained  by  incising  the  trunk  of  a 
species  of  Canarium,  found  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  used  chiefly  in  the 'manufacture  of 
spirit  and  turpentine  varnishes.  The  word  "elemi,"  like  the  older  term  "  anirni,"  appears 
to  have  been  derived  from  enhaemon  (Greek),  the  name  of  a  styptic  medicine,  said  by 
Pliny  to  contain  tears  exuded  by  the  olive  tree  of  Arabia.  This  tree,  according  to  Fluck- 
iger  and  Hanbury,  is  probably  to  be  identified  with  the  Boswellia  Frereana,  or  bird  wood, 
which  flourishes  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bunder  Marayah,  west  of  Cape  Guardafui. 
Mexican  or  Vera  Cruz  elemi,  formerly  imported  into  England,  is  afforded  by  the  species 
Amyris  elemifera,  Royle ;  Mauritius  elemi  by  another  tree,  Colophonia  Mauritiana,  and 
Brazilian  elemi  by  several  species  of  Idea.  (Enc.  Brit.,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  122.) 


—  28  — 

Enough,  however,  has  been  done  to  show  that  California  may  hope  ere 
long  to  include  her  fig  products  with  those  of  her  citrus  fruits,  prunes, 
and  raisins,  among  the  leading  industries  of  the  State.  A  prominent 
commission  merchant  of  £?an  Francisco,  who  handles  a  large  amount  of 
our  domestic  dried  fruits,  in  speaking  of  the  California  fi^s,  says: 

"  I  think  the  outlook  for  the  fig  industry  in  California  is  very  bright. 
The  producers  and  packers  have  made  great  progress  in  the  last  few 
years  in  the  cultivation  and  curing  of  this  grand  fruit,  but  for  some 
reason  they  have  either  failed  to  discover  the  right  variety  of  fig  for  the 
soil  and  climate  of  this  State,  or  they  have  not  yet  attained  the  proper 
perfection  in  the  process  of  drying.  I  am  unable  to  say  definitely  where 
the  fault  lies,  but  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  in  the  variety.  There 
is  no  reason  why  California  should  not  raise  as  good  figs  as  any  country 
in  the  world.  In  my  opinion  she  has  no  superior  in  the  production  of 
olives  and  nuts,  and  I  am  confident  that  when  we  overcome  the  slight 
difficulties  that  now  confront  us,  the  fig  industry  will  grow7  to  great 
proportions. 

u  There  is  room  for  wide  development  right  here  in  the  local  market, 
to  say  nothing  about  the  territory  beyond  the  Rockies.  This  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  there  are  imported  into  this  market  not  less  than  one 
hundred  tons  of  dried  figs  every  year.  What  the  producers  must  do  is 
to  supply  a  product  that  will  take  the  place  of  the  imported  article. 
I  am  entirely  confident  that  they  will  be  able  to  do  so,  for  I  have  seen 
California  figs,  particularly  at  the  Marysville  Citrus  Fair,  that  were  as 
fine  in  texture,  color,  and  saccharine  quality  as  any  that  can  be  grown 
on  the  globe.  For  all  these  reasons  I  regard  the  outlook  for  the  fig 
industry  as  highly  encouraging." 

With  regard  to  the  quality  of  California  figs,  Consul  Emmett  wrote 
from  Smyrna: 

"A  box  of  figs  grown  and  packed  in  California  reached  here  this 
autumn,  and  was  inspected  and  universally  praised  by  many  dealers. 
In  some  instances  it  was  impossible  to  persuade  the  parties  that  said 
figs  were  grown  outside  the  Aidin  district;  in  fact,  some  went  so  far  as 
to  designate  the  orchard.  Those  who  grasped  the  full  importance  of 
this  American  enterprise  predicted  that  Turkey's  supremacy  in  the  fig 
trade  was  waning.  Some  console  themselves  with  the  opinion  that  the 
American  fig  will  not  continue  to  be  good;  as  the  trees  (grown  from 
Smyrna  cuttings)  grow  older  the  fruit  will  have  thick  skins  and  become 
tough;  in  fact,  become  native  American  figs.'7 

The  fig  was  introduced  into  California,  with  its  companions,  the  olive 
and  the  vine,  by  the  Mission  Fathers.  From  whence  the  original  stock 
came  it  is  now  difficult  to  determine,  as  a  distinct  variety  of  each  has 
been  developed  in  California,  to  which  the  name  of  Mission  has  been 
applied.  The  Mission  fig  is  one  of  the  best  for  all  purposes  grown  in 
the  State.  In  color  it  is  black  or  dark  purple,  and  this  militates  against 
it  in  the  market  as  a  dried  fig.  This  is  mere  sentiment  and  simply 
because  the  most  generally  and  best  known  to  commerce — the  Smyrna — 
is  white  or  light  colored.  The  Mission,  rightly  dried,  is  superior  to  all 
except  the  genuine  Smyrna,  and  is,  by  many,  thought  to  equal  that. 
The  tree  is  among  the  hardiest,  strongest  growers,  healthy  >  and  the  most 
productive  of  all  the  fig  varieties,  and  adapted  to  a  wide  range  of  soils. 
It  can  be  grown  nearly  everywhere  on  this  coast  where  the  winters  are 
not  too  severe.  In  the  rich,  warm  interior  valleys  the  tree  grows  very 


—  29  — 

fast  and  to  a  great  size,  and  ripens  two  or  three  immense  crops  each 
season.  It  is  suited  to  a  great  number  of  economical  uses,  and  not  as 
yet  properly  appreciated  and  utilized  as  it  should  and  will  be.  It  is  a 
rich,  nutritious  fruit  for  man,  beast,  or  fowl.  Crops  are  as  regular  as 
the  seasons. 

The  fig  does  best  in  this  State  back  from  the  coast,  and  some  of  the 
best  results  in  its  cultivation  have  been  secured  in  the  Sierra  foothills. 
Some  very  excellent  figs  have  been  produced  in  Fresno  and  Tulare 
Counties,  while  some  of  the  best  drying  fruit  in  the  State  is  grown  in 
Placer,  San  Bernardino,  Solano,  and  Ventura  Counties.  At  Downey,  in 
Los  Angeles  County,  is  a  very  large  fig  orchard,  devoted  to  the  Marsel- 
laise  fig,  a  small,  white,  sweet  fruit.  Some  of  these  trees  are  sixteen 
years  old  and  bear  quite  heavily.  These  figs  are  disposed  of  in  Los 
Angeles,  where  there  is  a  good  demand  for  this  fruit  for  crystallizing 
and  glace  purposes.  Growers  receive  $50  per  ton  for  this  purpose. 

George  C.  Roeding,  of  Fresno,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Fruit  Grow- 
ers' Convention  at  Marysville,  gives  the  history  of  the  introduction  of 
the  Smyrna  fig  in  this  State,  as  follows: 

"  Among  those  who  have  taken  a  lively  interest  in  this  country  in  the 
fig  business,  I  may  say  that  the  Fancher  Creek  Nursery  has  done  a 
considerable  share  by  importing  and  planting  numerous  varieties  of 
cuttings  from  Smyrna  and  other  places,  and  it  is  only  during  the  last 
two  years  that  any  practical  results  have  followed  its  exertions. 

"  With  the  introduction  of  the  White  Adriatic  variety  it  was  thought 
the  problem  had  been  solved;  and  while  it  cannot  be  denied  that  this 
kind  produces  one  of  the  finest  of  table  fruits,  it  must,  at  the  same  time, 
be  admitted  that  when  dried  it  does  not  come  up  to  the  standard  of  the 
imported  fig  from  Smyrna,  lacking  in  its  most  essential  points,  viz.: 
tenderness  of  skin  and  the  flavor. 

"The  early  conviction  of  this  truth  induced  the  proprietor  of  the 
above  nursery  to  send  his  foreman,  in  the  year  1886,  to  Smyrna  for 
the  purpose  of  investigating  the  fig.  business  on  the  spot  and  obtain  a 
variety  of  cuttings  and  all  possible  information  for  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  the  business  in  this  State.  He  remained  in  Smyrna  four 
months,  and,  after  considerable  difficulty,  succeeded  in  securing  several 
thousand  of  the  Smyrna  fig  cuttings,  as  well  as  quite  a  number  of  wild 
figs  and  a  few  of  such  varieties  as  are  grown  for  home  consumption, 
some  being  used  in  the  green  state,  others  dried.  His  trip  and  experi- 
ence will  probably  be  of  interest,  and  the  following  is  a  copy  of  his  letter 
of  November  6,  1886: 

"I  am  having  no  end  of  trouble.  I  find  that  I  have  been  watched  by  the  people  here 
since  first  landing.  The  parties  from  whom  I  first  engaged  cuttings  have  refused  to  let 
me  have  any  at  any  price,  and  I  do  not  know  what  to  do.  I  went  to  the  American 
Consul  for  assistance.  He  informed  me  that  I  could  only  obtain  the  cuttings  through 
a  foreign  resident,  as  the  Smyrna  people  were  much  opposed  to  sending  cuttings  of  any 
kind  out  of  the  country,  for  fear  of  competition.  Seeing  the  utter  uselessness  of  trying 
to  secure  the  cuttings  directly,  I  took  out  a  hunting  license,  and,  with  a  passport  which 
I  had  used  on  a  former  trip,  1,  with  Mr.  Hall,  a  gentleman  who  had  resided  a  number  of 
years  in  Smyrna,  started  for  the  interior,  and  was  successful  in  getting  cuttings  from 
Erbold  (this  is  the  valley  where  the  finest  figs  are  grown).  1  did  not  appear  in  the  trans- 
action at  all,  but  was  snooting  in  the  orchard  where  the  cuttings  were  being  gathered, 
and  kept  watch  of  the  Turks  all  the  time,  to  see  that  the  cuttings  were  cut  from  the 
right  trees.  From  the  valley  I  shipped  them  by  the  Aidin  Railroad  to  Smyrna  as  licorice 
roots,  the  company  refusing  to  talce  them  unless  consigned  in  this  manner.  On  the 
arrival  at  their  destination  the  packages  were  placed  in  the  warehouse  of  the  English 
Steamship  Company,  and  there  packed  with  sawdust,  in  boxes  lined  with  thick  paper, 
and  shipped  on  a  steamer  bound  for  London. 

"  With  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Van  Lennip  I  secured  the  wild  fig  cuttings,  and  also  quite 
a  number  of  other  varieties. 


—  30  — 

"After  this  gentleman's  departure,  the  following  appeared  in  the  '  Ori- 
ental Advertiser,'  published  in  Constantinople,  of  December,  1886,  from 
their  Smyrna  correspondent: 

"  We  often  hear  people  exclaim,  '  I  don't  care  a  fig,'  as  if  they  considered  a  fig  a  very 
small  matter.  Our  American  cousins,  however,  look  at  it  from  a  different  point;  that 
is  to  say,  from  a  commercial  point  of  view. 

"We  always  thought  the  fig  growers  of  Asia  Minor  were  jealous  of  any  foreign  compe- 
tition, and  we  gave  them  credit  for  a  certain  amount  of  worldly  foresight  and  wisdom  ; 
but  we  find  that  it  requires  but  little  of  the  gold  dust  of  the  New  World  to  blind  them  to 
their  own  interests.  The  Americans  have  just  succeeded  in  playing  upon  the  dozing 
Smyrnaites  a  trick,  which,  no  doubt,  will  prove  of  serious  consequence. 

"  Some  three  weeks  ago  W.  C.  West,  of  the  Fancher  Creek  Nursery,  Fresno,  came  to 
Smyrna  to  make  a  study  of  the  Smyrna  fig,  and  also  secure  cuttings  of  that  variety  for 
propagation  in  California.  Fortunately  for  his  object,  Mr.  West,  on  his  arrival,  made 
the  acquaintance  of  an  Englishman,  a  resident  ol  over  twenty  years,  without  whose 
assistance  he  could  scarcely  have  succeeded. 

"This  resident,  by  his  energy  and  determination,  brought  the  affair  to  a  successful 
termination.  Besides  the  figs  he  took  cuttings  of  other  plants.  This  little  incident  serves 
to  show  that  the  Smyrnaites  ought  not  to  be  so  indifferent  to  such  important  matters. 
By  this  time  Mr.  West  is  on  his  way  home  with  his  cuttings,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
Smyrna  trade  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  fig  will  not  take  in  California,  though  the  chance 
is  very  slight. 

"If  it  does,  however,  America  will  supply  the  European  market  with  better  ' Eleme" ' 
than  Smyrna  ever  produced.  Another  matter,  which  should  not  be  forgotten,  is  that 
American  machinery  will,  no  doubt,  take  the  place  of  manual  labor  in  packing.  The 
prospect  of  losing  th'e  fig  trade  is  a  sad  one,  and  should  provide  food  for  reflection  for  all 
who  live  by  its  product  in  Asia  Minor. 

["  We  do  not  quite  agree  with  our  correspondent,  for  Smyrna-grown  figs,  pomegranates, 
etc.,  will  never  be  anything  else,  namely,  the  best  in  the  world.  Seeds  and  cuttings  may 
be  taken  to  America  or  elsewhere,  but  a  foreign  soil  will  never  be  able  to  give  the  same 
nourishment  and  strength  to  the  new  product  so  that  no  difference  would  be  known 
between  it  and  the  old.  At  the  same  time  our  correspondent  is,  no  doubt,  right  about 
the  want  of  precaution  on  the  part  of  those  who  run  a  great  risk  in  jeopardizing  the 
Smyrna  fig  trade. — Ed.  'Oriental  Advertiser.'] 

"After  a  journey  of  seven  months  the  cuttings  arrived  in  Fresno  May 
24th,  in  good  condition.  Much  to  my  surprise,  most  of  them  had  sent 
out  numerous  roots  into  the  sawdust,  which  was  still  in  a  moist  condi- 
tion, having,  no  doubt,  absorbed  moisture  during  the  transit  across  the 
Atlantic. 

"  On  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  season,  not  more  than  about  one 
third  of  the  cuttings  grew,  the  warm  weather  having  already  com- 
menced. They  were  planted  out  in  the  orchard  of  the  Fancher  Creek 
Nursery  the  following  year,  where  the  trees  are  now  growing  vigorously 
in  light,  sandy,  and  well-drained  soil." 

That  there  is  an  ample  market  for  our  domestic  fig  production  is 
shown  from  the  fact  that  the  United  States  is  a  large  importer  of  the 
foreign  article.  In  1889  our  importations  were  9,101,300  pounds,  and 
in  1890,  9,678,315  pounds,  for  which  nearly  a  million  dollars  annually 
were  sent  away.  This  sum  might  as  well  be  diverted  into  the  pockets 
of  California  orchardists.  It  is  estimated  that  the  output  of  this  State, 
in  1887,  was  about  90,000  pounds,  and  this  amount  has  been  increased 
until  at  the  present  time  the  product  will  amount  to  about  500,000 
pounds.  A  great  advantage  offered  to  California  producers  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  we  have  practically  no  competition  in  the  Eastern  market. 
The  domestic  product  can  be  placed  in  the  New  York  market  a  month 
or  six  weeks  before  the  Asiatic  crop  can  be  placed,  thus  giving  California 
an  opportunity  to  dispose  of  her  product  before  the  Asiatic  supply  is 
received. 

With  the  same  energy  that  has  been  displayed  by  California  in  per- 
sistent experimenting  with  raisins  and  prunes,  it  cannot  be  questioned 


—  31  — 

but  that  California  will  produce  as  fine  figs  as  any  in  the  world.  If  the 
Smyrna  will  not  give  us  this,  we  may  yet  hope  for  a  California  variety 
that  will  equal  it.  The  industry  is,  as  yet,  a  comparatively  new  one, 
the  first  carload  of  dried  figs  shipped  to  the  East  having  been  sent  from 
Fresno,  in  1889,  and  these  sold  at  good  figures.  With  this  introduction, 
and  persistent  work,  there  can  be  no  question  but  that  in  a  few  years 
California  figs  will  take  their  stand  side  by  side  with  California  prunes 
and  figs  in  the  markets  of  the  Eastern  States. 

The  question  of  caprification,  which  is  at  present  attracting  so  much 
attention,  has  been  most  ably  expounded  by  Professor  Gasparrini, 
referred  to  elsewhere,  and  the  following  is  a  translation  from  the  Italian 
of  his  essay: 

ON   THE    CAPRIFICATION    OF    THE    FIG. 

[The  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Naples  proposed  as  the  subject 
of  an  essay: 

1.  To  examine  the  opinions  of  authors  on  caprification,  above  all, 
those  of  Cavolina  and  Gallesio,  and  to  see  what  were  the  merits  of  the 
ideas  and  experiments  of  these  men. 

2.  To  describe  the  varieties  of  figs,  especially  those  on  which  caprifica- 
tion is  practiced. 

3.  To  prove  by  experiment,  or  on  anatomical  or  physiological  grounds, 
whether  the  fertilization  of  the  seeds  is  affected  by  the  insect  of  the 
caprifig,  or  whether  the  insect  produces  no  such  effect  and  caprification 
be  useless. 

4.  The  essay  to  be  accompanied  by  figures  representing  the  varieties 
of  fig  on  which  the  experiments  are  made,  and  the  structure  of  their 
organs  of  fecundation  and  fructification. 

Gasparrini's  memoir  in  reply  is  divided  into  four  parts.  The  first 
contains  a  detailed  physiological  account  of  the  caprifig  and  its  different 
varieties,  which  he  considers  not  only  specifically  but  generically  distinct 
from  the  cultivated  fig,  including  a  detailed  history  of  the  fly  bred  in 
its  fruits. 

The  second  is  a  similar  account  of  eatable  figs  cultivated  about 
Naples. 

The  third  (here  translated)  relates  specially  to  caprification. 

The  fourth  is  a  botanical  comparison  of  the  fig,  the  caprifig,  and  some 
exotic  species. — B.  M.  L.] 

1.  Historical  Notes  on  the  Subject. — Herodotus  informs  us  in  his  his- 
tories that  the  Babylonians  knew  of  old  that  there  were  male  and  female 
date  trees,  and  that  the  female  required  the  concurrence  of  the  male  to 
become  fertile.  This  fact  was  also  known  to  the  Egyptians,  to  the  Phoe- 
nicians, and  to  other  nations  of  Asia  and  Africa.  The  ancients  were 
acquainted,  moreover,  with  several  circumstances  proved  by  experience 
relative  to  the  diversity  of  sexes  in  plants,  like  the  one  just  mentioned 
of  the  date  tree,  and  among  these  dioecious  plants  they  distinguished 
the  female  as  being  the  one  that  bore  fruit.  And  in  other  cases  where 
they  suspected  a  diversity  of  sexes,  not  having  any  fixed  rule  or  suffi- 
cient science  to  guide  them,  they  judged  merely  by  external /acies,  by 
medicinal  virtues,  or  by  other  such  fallacious  or  slight  indications.  If 
it  may  not  indeed  at  all  times  have  been  universally  believed  that  all 
things  endowed  with  senses  or  life  are  reproduced  by  the  concurrence 
of  sexes,  yet  the  ancients,  although  they  could  not  detect  either  the 


—  32  — 

sexual  organs  of  plants  or  the  fact  of  their  fecundation,  nevertheless 
seeing  them  at  certain  periods  of  their  life  clothed  with  elegant  flowers, 
perfumed  with  various  essences,  distilling  delicious  nectars,  all  radiant 
with  glory,  as  if  prepared  for  some  ceremony  of  proportionate  impor- 
tance, they  judged  by  the  rules  of  common  sense  and  analogy  that  this 
was  the  period  of  their  loves,  and  that  there  must  be  amongst  them  all, 
according  to  the  laws  of  nature,  a  male  and  a  female.  Thus,  with  regard 
to  the  date  tree,  the  Babylonians,  either  imagining  or  finding  by  expe- 
rience that  the  great  distance  of  the  male  was  often  an  impediment  to 
the  fecundity  of  the  female,  they  suspended  to  the  latter  male  flowers 
brought  from  a  distance;  and  they  believed  that  the  fertilizing  power  of 
these  male  flowers  resided  in  the  small  flies  which  they  harbored,  and 
which,  introducing  themselves  into  the  female  flowers,  caused  them  to  set 
and  to  ripen.  This  operation,  called  palmification,  is  still  in  use,  and 
reckoned  necessary  for  obtaining  fruit  in  the  country  where  the  date 
tree  grows  naturally.  .  If  we  could  establish  with  certainty  that  this 
theory  of  the  date  tree  was  current  before  the  facts  were  known  con- 
cerning the  fig,  we  might  well  suppose  that  the  earliest  Greek  culti- 
vators, seeing  the  caprifig  always  sterile  (in  so  far  as  that  the  fruit  does 
not  become  sweet),  with  a  coarse  and  wild  habit,  and  seeing  the  quantity 
of  little  flies  it  produces,  should  have  thought  that  that  was  indeed  the 
male,  and  that  the  fertility  of  the  real  fig  depended  upon  it,  and  that 
thus  taking  example  from  the  date  tree  the  custom  should  have  origi- 
nated of  suspending  the  flowers  of  the  caprifig  to  the  domestic  fig  tree. 
But  the  memory  of  this  custom  is  even  more  ancient  than  that  of  the 
palmification  of  the  date  tree.  This  caprification,  as  it  is  called  by  us, 
is  spoken  of  by  the  most  ancient  Greek  writers  on  natural  history;  it  is 
alluded  to  by  Aristotle,  and  minutely  described  by  Theophrastus,  writers 
who  were  not  only  superior  to  all  others  in  their  philosophical  specula- 
tions, but  were  very  ingenious  in  their  ideas  on  natural  objects  and 
phenomena. 

Aristotle  observes  that  a  certain  insect  is  generated  in  the  flowers  of 
the  caprifig,  which,  having  become  a  fly,  enters  the  unripe  fruits  of  the 
domestic  fig  and  causes  them  to  set,  for  which  reason  cultivators  always 
plant  the  one  by  the  side  of  the  other,  or  suspend  the  fruits  of  the  one 
to  the  branches  of  the  other.  Theophrastus  does  not  confine  himself  to 
this  bare  statement  of  the  practice  which  prevailed,  but  discourses  at 
length  on  the  manner  in  which  the  little  fly  could  produce  this  effect, 
whether  by  opening  or  by  closing  the  aperture  of  the  fig.  He  rejects 
the  second  theory  and  pronounces  for  the  first,  saying  that  the  fly  by 
continual  nibbling  enlarges  the  mouth  of  the  fig  and  sucks  out  the 
superfluous  humors,  and  that  the  air  penetrating  through  the  aperture, 
it  follows  that  by  its  warmth  and  fermenting  qualities  the  fig  sets  and 
ripens.  Nevertheless  there  are  races  of  domestic  figs  which  do  not 
require  the  aid  of  the  caprifig  to  ripen,  and  treating  of  these,  this  dili- 
gent observer  is  of  opinion  that  this  may  arise  from  the  quality  of  the 
soil  or  of  climate  as  well  as  from  the  particular  nature  of  certain  figs 
which  can  ripen  their  fruits  without  assistance.  He  believes  that  a 
poor  dry  soil  with  a  northern  aspect,  the  deficiency  of  moisture  in  such 
soil,  the  cool  wind  which  is  usual  in  such  a  situation,  and  even  the  dust 
which  would  cover  the  fruit  and  absorb  its  superfluous  humors,  would 
all  tend  to  open  the  mouth  of  the  fig  and  produce  the  same  effects  which 
in  the  other  case  are  brought  about  by  the  flies,  and  that  if  in  Italy  and 


—  33  — 

some  other  countries  caprification  was  not  known,  it  was  because,  for 
the  above  reasons,  the  figs  in  those  countries  set  and  ripened  naturally; 
and  Pliny,  speaking  of  this  subject,  says  that  the  caprifig  is  of  a  wild 
nature,  and  does  not  ripen  its  fruit,  but  that  it  imparts  to  the  fig  that 
virtue  which  it  does  not  itself  possess,  for  such  is  the  course  of  nature, 
that  even  from  putrefaction  something  should  be  generated.  It  pro- 
duces midges,  which,  deprived  of  any  nourishment  from  their  own 
parent,  fly  to  the  allied  fig,  and  by  continual  biting  at  the  mouth  enlarge 
it,  and,  penetrating  within,  facilitate  the  admission  of  light  and  fertiliz- 
ing air  (aura  cereals),  thus  transforming  the  milky  humor  into  a  sweet 
honeyed  juice.  On  this  account  the  caprifig  should  be  planted  near  the 
fig,  and  on  that  side  from  whence  the  wind  might  carry  the  fertilizing 
breath.  Now,  this  description  is  but  little  more  than  a  copy  of  what 
Theophrastus  had  written  so  long  before.  These  were  the  opinions  of 
the  learned  as  well  as  the  usages  of  the  country  in  the  times  of  Herod- 
otus, Aristotle,  Theophrastus,  Dioscorides,  and  Pliny;  but  however 
ancient  was  the  practice  in  Greece,  it  remained  there;  for  there  is  no 
tradition  of  its  having  been  introduced  into  Syria  or  Palestine;  and 
Pliny  remarks  that  even  at  his  time  it  was  only  in  use  in  the  islands  of 
the  Archipelago.  It  may,  therefore,  be  affirmed  with  tolerable  cer- 
tainty that  it  was  only  brought  from  thence  into  our  country  (Italy), 
although,  owing  to  the  long  rule  of  barbarians,  it  is  impossible  to  fix 
the  period  of  its  introduction  with  any  degree  of  probability. 

After  the  revival  of  science,  Csesalpinius,  about  the  year  1583,  dis- 
covered the  sexual  organs  in  flowering  plants,  and  thus  the  conjectures 
of  the  ancients  became  a  certainty.  Nevertheless,  the  opinions  on  the 
effects  of  caprification  did  not  change  in  the  least,  and  none  of  the 
botanists  or  agriculturists  of  the  time,  who  treated  of  the  fig,  differed 
in  this  respect  from  Theophrastus,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  works  of 
Bauhin,  who  lived  many  years  after  Csesalpinius.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  last  century,  Tournefort,  traveling  through  Greece,  endeavored  to 
ascertain  the  details  and  the  effects  of  caprification,  and  whatever  he 
saw  and  noted  down  he  afterwards  published.  He  follows  the  opinion 
of  the  Greeks  with  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  the  effects  may  be 
produced,  saying  that  the  caprifig  produces  three  kinds  of  receptacles 
(as  we  have  elsewhere  explained  in  detail)  and  three  generations  of  the 
fly  in  the  course  of  the  year;  that  there  are  eatable  figs  which  require 
the  assistance  of  the  caprifig  to  set;  that  the  virtue  of  caprification 
consists  in  the  bite  of  the  insect,  which,  by  enabling  the  superfluous 
milky  juice  to  escape,  causes  the  fig  to  set  and  ripen,  and  perhaps  also 
some  liquid  issuing  from  the  fly  itself  produces  the  saccharine  fermenta- 
tion by  combination  with  the  juice  of  the  fig.  Pontedera  afterwards, 
in  making  known  jthe  structure  of  the  flowers,  as  well  of  the  caprifig  as 
of  the  fig,  states  his  belief  that  the  fly  acts  upon  the  latter  by  giving 
admission  into  it  to  light  and  air.  All  of  which  statements  differ  in 
little  or  nothing  from  the  opinions  of  the  Greeks. 

Meanwhile  the  discovery  of  Csesalpinius,  in  the  commencement  of 
the  preceding  century,  had  more  than  ever  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  learned,  many  of  whom  admitted  the  necessity  of  sexes  for  the 
fecundation  of  fruits,  and  especially  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  fertile 
seeds,  yet  there  were  not  wanting  those  who  contradicted  it,  and  amongst 
other  grounds  adduced  the  fig  as  ripening  its  fruit  without  fecundation. 
But  the  most  sensible  observers  multiplied  the  facts  relating  to  the 

3-F 


—  34  — 

fecundation  of  vegetables;  they  ascertained  that  the  female  date  was 
enabled  to  set  and  ripen  its  fruit,  not  by  the  insect,  as  Herodotus 
believed,  but  by  the  fertilizing  powder  of  the  anthers;  and,  amongst 
other  remarkable  circumstances,  this  also  was  discovered,  that  certain 
animals  and  vegetables  lived  under  a  kind  of  mutual  dependence  for  the 
accomplishment  of  the  operation.  Thus,  for  example,  it  was  observed 
that  the  male  flowers  of  the  gourd  abounded  in  pollen,  which  is  their 
fertilizing  powder.  With  this  pollen  bees  chiefly  form  their  wax,  and 
the  bee  flying  from  flower  to  flower  carries  it  from  the  male  to  the 
female  £ower,  which  eagerly  sucks  it  up,  becomes  fertile,  and  grows  into 
the  fruit.  These  facts  and  other  similar  ones  having  been  related  and 
proved,  it  appeared  to  the  learned,  and  especially  to  Linnaeus,  that  they 
explained  the  whole  secret  of  caprification.  This  great  botanist  well 
knew  that  the  fruit  is  the  enlarged  ovary,  and  that  the  fig  commonly 
called  a  fruit  is  not  the  ovary,  but  a  receptacle  containing  the  flowers, 
and  capable  of  enlarging  without  the  assistance  of  fecundation.  Know- 
ing, moreover,  by  the  researches  of  Pontedera,  that  the  domestic  fig 
only  contained  female  flowers,  and  that  the  males  were  in  the  caprifig, 
and  that  in  the  one,  as  in  the  other,  the  flowers  remained  inclosed 
withinside  the  receptacle,  he  conceived  the  beautiful  idea  that  the  fecun- 
dation of  the  fig  took  place  by  a  special  provision  of  nature.  This  con- 
sisted in  the  creation  in  the  caprifig  of  an  insect  which,  for  the  purposes 
of  support  and  propagation,  was  obliged  to  penetrate  into  the  domestic 
fig,  and  carried  with  it  the  prolific  humors.  Thus  fertilized  the  embryo 
was  produced,  and  the  greatest  number  of  the  receptacles  remained  on 
the  trees,  and  came  to  maturity.  In  reply  to  those  who  followed  the 
opinion  of  Camerarius,  who  said  that  the  seeds  of  the  fig  never  germi- 
nated, as  well  as  to  those  who  alleged  on  the  contrary  that  fig  trees 
could  be  only  raised  from  the  seeds  of  figs  of  the  Greek  Archipelago,  or 
of  Italy,  with  the  remark  that  the  statement  of  Camerarius  was  correct 
in  regard  to  seeds  produced  in  Germany,  France,  or  England,  where, 
there  being  no  caprifig,  the  figs  remained  necessarily  sterile,  whilst,  on 
the  contrary,  in  Greece  and  Italy,  where  the  caprifig  existed,  the  fig 
seeds  became  fertile,  either  naturally  or  artificially,  by  means  of  caprifi- 
cation, this  explanation  appeared  so  just  and  natural  that  it  was  gen- 
erally adopted. 

2.  Concise  Exposition  of  the  Theory  of  Cavolini. — Towards  the  close  of 
the  last  century,  Cavolini,  who  was  in  natural  sciences  the  pride  and 
ornament,  not  only  of  Naples,  but  even  of  the  whole  of  Italy,  sent  to 
press  a  learned  treatise  on  the  present  subject.  He  first  describes  the 
caprifig  and  the  fig;  then  observes  that  they  are  but  individuals  of  one 
species,  the  caprifig  being  androgynous  and  the  fig  the  female  plant; 
and  he  proceeds  to  endeavor  to  prove  the  necessity  of  caprification. 
The  fig,  he  says,  is  a  receptacle,  or  "  a  portion  of  the  branch  prolonged 
for  the  purpose  of  fructification,  and  not  a  pericarp,  which  is  the  external 
covering  of  the  seed.  The  receptacle  can  support  itself  and  attain  its 
perfection  without  fecundation;  but  not  so  the  pericarp,  on  account  of 
its  adherence  to  the  seed  by  means  of  its  vessels."  Nevertheless,  he 
afterwards  declares  that  this  theory  is  not  in  all  cases  confirmed  by  fact, 
alleging  that  the  receptacle  of  the  strawberry,  of  the  mulberry,  of  the 
blackberry,  and  of  other  plants,  does  not  grow  or  become  succulent  till 
after  the  fecundation  of  the  pistil.  And  from  these  data  he  argues,  as 
to  the  mode  in  which  caprification  works,  as  follows:  That  which  is 


—  35  — 

commonly  called  the  fruit  is  a  dilatation  of  the  branch,  and  bears  the 
flowers;  but  being  different  from  the  real  branch  in  internal  structure, 
the  nutritive  fluids  meet  with  difficulties  in  passing  from  the  large  direct 
channels  of  the  branch  into  the  vessels  of  the  receptacle,  which  are  of 
a  different  structure  and  direction.  On  this  account  they  would  soon 
drop  off  if  the  female  flowers  were  not  fertilized ;  but  as  the  fecundation 
induces  an  affluence  of  humors  to  the  ovary,  and  thence  to  the  recepta- 
cle, it  follows  that  the  one  and  the  other  continue  to  grow.  And  as  this 
defective  structure  is  greater  or  less  in  different  sorts  of  figs,  so  (extrinsic) 
fecundation  is  necessary  in  some,  superfluous  in  others,  whilst  others 
only  require  a  very  little  of  it.  And  if  the  same  fig  at  Naples,  for 
example,  may  require  caprification,  and  not  require  it  at  Capri,  it  is 
because  in  the  latter  place  the  soil,  reduced  to  the  finest  dust,  and  the 
air  loaded,  the  one  with  alkaline  salts,  the  other  with  phlogiston,  could 
produce  the  same  effect;  that  is,  the  setting  and  ripening  of  a  large 
quantity  of  fruits.  Thus  it  is  that  in  certain  places  caprification  is 
entirely  unknown,  as  in  the  promontory  of  Sorrentum,  Ischia,  and  other 
districts.  Believing,  therefore,  that  fecundation  was  necessary  to  sus- 
tain the  domestic  fig  till  its  maturity,  and  that  it  contained  only  female 
flowers,  whilst  those  of  the  caprifig  were  androgynous,  with  perfect 
anthers,  it  followed  naturally  that  the  fly  coming  from  one  to  enter  the 
other  should  carry  with  it  the  pollen  or  the  fertilizing  essence.  He, 
consequently,  thought  it  worth  while  minutely  to  describe  the  insect  in 
its  various  states.  Such  is,  in  brief,  Cavolini's  theory  of  caprification, 
which  we  should  have  given  in  detail  did  it  not  appear  to  us  to  be  too 
prolix  and  somewhat  obscure. 

3.  Exposition  of  the  Theory  of  Gallesio. — Gallesio,  not  long  dead,  has 
left  a  large  treatise  on  the  physiology  of  the  fig  and  on  caprification. 
We  have  extracted  from  it  in  their  proper  places  whatever  appeared  to 
us  of  the  most  importance  on  the  fig  and  on  the  caprifig,  and  we  now 
proceed  to  state  this  author's  opinion  on  caprification.  He  admits  with 
Theophrastus,  Pliny,  and  so  many  others,  that  there  are  figs  which 
mature  their  fruits  naturally,  and  others  that  require  caprification. 
This  difference  was  attributed  by  the  ancients  to  climate  and  soil, 
believing  that  in  a  poor  soil,  with  a  northern  exposure,  the  fig  could 
nourish  and  mature  its  fruit  without  the  caprifig;  Gallesio,  on  the  con- 
trary, affirms  that  it  proceeds  from  a  difference  in  organization,  that  the 
fig  requiring  the  caprifig  is  quite  a  different  kind  from  the  others,  and 
that  both  preserve  their  character  and  temperament  in  any  soil  or 
climate  which  they  can  bear.  Now,  the  diversity  in  their  organization, 
according  to  him,  is  this:  Some  figs  have  no  flowers  capable  of  being 
fertilized,  as  their  ovaries  are  without  ovules;  these  produce  no  fertile 
seeds,  and  cannot  feel  the  action  of  the  caprifig,  which  they  do  not 
stand  in  need  of  to  preserve  and  ripen  their  fruit.  These  he  calls  mules, 
and  says  it  is  they  which  are  cultivated  in  Spain,  Florence,  and  upper 
Italy.  Other  figs,  called  semi-mules,  have  flowers  susceptible  of  fecun- 
dation, the  ovaries  being  furnished  with  ovules.  In  these  fecundation 
generates  the  embryo,  which  causes  the  nutritive  humors  to  flow  to  it 
from  the  peduncles,  which  can  only  draw  them  from  the  receptacle; 
this,  again,  cannot  obtain  the  nutriment  from  anywhere  but  from  the 
stem,  and  thus  the  fecundation  occasions  the  setting  and  ripening  of  the 
fruit.  And  as  it  is  only  the  caprifig  that  can  produce  this  effect,  so  cap- 
rification is  necessary  for  the  perfection  of  these  semi-mule  figs.  Such 


—  36  — 

are,  he  says,  the  figs  of  the  Archipelago,  and  many  of  those  of  the  king- 
dom of  Naples,  all  producing  female  flowers  only. 

4.  Opinions  against  Caprification. — There  are  many  who  will  not  admit 
that  any  effect  is  produced  by  caprification,  and  these  are  chiefly  igno- 
rant or  simple  cultivators,  who  judge  from  observing  that  in  many  places 
figs  ripen  without  the  cooperation  of  the  caprifig.  But  with  these  must 
not  be  confounded  two  distinguished  French  naturalists,  Olivier  and 
Bory  de  St.  Vincent,  who  have  enounced  the  same  opinion.  The  for- 
mer, after  having  explained  the  process  as  practiced  in  Greece,  adds: 
"  This  operation,  of  which  some  authors,  both  ancient  and  modern, 
have  spoken  with  admiration,  appears  to  me  to  be  nothing  more  than  a 
tribute  of  ignorance,  which  man  pays  to  prejudice.  Caprification  is 
unknown  in  many  parts  of  the  Levant,  in  Italy,  in  France,  and  in 
Spain,  and  begins  to  be  abandoned  in  some  islands  of  the  Archipelago 
where  it  used  to  be  practiced,  and  which,  nevertheless,  still  produce 
excellent  figs  for  eating.  If  the  operation  were  necessary,  whether 
fecundation  be  effected  by  the  fertilizing  pollen  dispersed  in  the  air, 
introducing  itself  into  the  mouth  of  the  fig,  or  whether  nature  make  use 
of  a  little  fly  to  transmit  it  from  one  fig  to  another,  as  is  commonly 
believed,  it  is  evident  that  the  first  fig  in  flower  could  not  fecundate  at 
the  same  time  as  those  which  have  already  attained  a  certain  size,  and 
those  which  are  only  just  appearing,  in  order  to  ripen  two  months  later." 
I  do  not  transcribe  the  words  of  Bory,  for  his  narration  appears  to  me 
to  be  but  a  judicious  illustration  of  what  Olivier  had  stated. 

And  here  I  close  the  history  with  the  following  brief  recapitulation  of 
different  opinions  of  authors  on  the  mode  of  operating  of  caprification: 
The  ancients  believed  that  its  virtue  depended  on  the  fly  of  the  capri- 
fig, which,  by  forcing  its  way  into  the  domestic  fig,  facilitated  the 
entrance  of  light  and  some  fertilizing  or  fermenting  vapor,  and  enabled 
the  fig  to  set  and  ripen,  and  that  a  poor  soil  and  northern  exposure  pro- 
duced the  same  effect.  Tournefort  believed  that  the  insect  made  the  figs 
set  and  ripen  by  pricking  and  biting  them,  giving  an  issue  to  the  super- 
fluous juices,  and  perhaps  by  communicating  some  peculiar  humors  of 
their  own  produced  the  saccharine  maturation.  Pontedera  followed  the 
ancients,  whose  theories  were  all  based  on,  that  of  Theophrastus.  Lin- 
naeus concluded,  from  the  observations  of  Pontedera  on  the  structure  of 
the  flowers  of  the  caprifig  and  the  fig,  that  the  latter  could  not  be  fecun- 
dated without  the  assistance  of  the  caprifig,  and  that  this  fecundation 
enabled  them  to  set  more  abundantly.  Cavolini  combined  in  some 
measure  the  theories  of  Linnaeus  and  of  Theophrastus,  affirming  that  the 
caprifig  fecundates  the  fig,  and  thereby  causes  it  to  bear  more  fruits  and 
ripen  them  better;  but  that  the  same  fig  can  also  ripen  its  fruit  in  certain 
districts  by  the  sole  effect  of  soil  and  climate.  Gallesio  follows  Cavolini 
in  so  far  as  regards  the  action  and  effects  of  fecundation,  but  believes 
that  neither  climate  nor  soil  can  produce  anything  of  the  kind;  and  that 
the  figs  which  do  not  require  caprification  differ  from  the  others  in  the 
internal  structure  of  their  flowers.  Lastly,  the  opinion  of  our  cultivators 
is  nearly  that  of  the  Greeks.  They  believe  that  the  caprifig  is  neces- 
sary for  some  figs,  which,  without  it,  would  lose  the  whole  or  the  greater 
part  of  their  fruits,  whilst  still  sour,  and  that  it  hastens  the  maturity 
even  of  those  figs  which  do  not  absolutely  require  it.  They  also  admit 
that  the  quality  of  the  soil  and  climate  may,  in  some  cases,  produce  the 
same  effect  as  caprification. 


—  37  — 

5.  Comments  on  the  Above  Opinions. — The  ancient  philosophers  and 
naturalists  admitted,  as  every  one  knows,  four  elements — earth,  water, 
air,  and  fire — the  which,  combined  together  in  various  ways,  produced 
an  infinity  of  phenomena  and  things.  Now,  Theophrastus,  wishing  to 
explain  how  it  could  happen  that  the  fly  should  cause  the  young  figs 
to  remain  on  the  tree,  bethought  himself  that,  whilst  the  fig  abounded 
in  humidity,  it  was  deficient  in  the  air  and  heat  necessary  for  fermenta- 
tion, and  that  the  insect,  by  feeding,  carried  off  precisely  the  super- 
abundant humidity,  and  by  opening  the  mouth  gave  entrance  to  air 
and  heat;  and  as  this  happened  naturally  in  a  poor  soil  and  northern 
exposure,  there  was  no  occasion  for  the  assistance  of  the  fly.  But  in 
the  present  state  of  science,  who  would  believe  in  the  attribution  of  such 
powers  to  the  soil  and  the  north  wind?  On  the  contrary,  such  circum- 
stances would  rather  produce  an  opposite  effect;  for  the  want  of  humidity 
and  cold  tend  rather  to  contract  the  parts.  And  if  any  one  were  to  see  in 
the  aura  cerealis  of  Pliny  that  which  is  now  called  pollen,  or  the  fertiliz- 
ing dust  generated  in  the  anthers,  would  probably  be  mistaken,  for  it 
appears  to  me  that  the  epithet  cerealis  denotes  nothing  but  fertility  or 
abundance  produced  by  the  aura.  The  opinion  of  Linnaeus  has,  in  truth, 
all  the  appearance,  I  do  not  say  of  probability,  but  even  of  certainty, 
of  being  simple  and  analogous  to  what  takes  place  in  a  great  number  of 
vegetables.  And  that  of  Tournefort,  if  one  does  not  entirely  give  faith 
to  it,  has,  nevertheless,  much  of  probability,  considering  that  in  other 
fruit  trees  the  ovary,  being  pierced  by  an  insect  for  the  purpose  of 
depositing  its  eggs,  does  not  fall  oft'  on  that  account,  but  ripens  like  the 
others,  only  a  little  earlier. 

Cavolini's  theory  is  derived  directly  from  Linnaeus,  only  that  his  ex- 
planation of  the  manner  in  which  the  fecundation  makes  the  fruit  of 
the  fig  set  is  ingenious,  and  even  rational.  Admitting,  then,  for  the 
moment,  that  the  fact  is  as  stated  by  that  celebrated  naturalist — that  is 
to  say,  that  in  certain  figs  the  nutritive  juices  cannot  pass  readily  from 
the  branch  to  the  fruit  (on  account,  as  he  says,  of  the  extreme  tenuity 
and  curvature  of  the  vessels),  unless  attracted  by  the  embryo  generated 
by  fecundation — yet  he  has  not  shown  that  in  the  figs  which  ripen  with- 
out caprification  these  vessels  are  really  less  curved  or  larger.  Now  we 
have  proved  that  the  structure  of  the  receptacle  in  all  the  varieties  of 
fig  is  tolerably  similar.  And  his  observation  that  the  fine  dust  of  the 
soil  might  produce  fecundation  is  now  wholly  inadmissible.  For  although 
towards  the  close  of  the  last  century  there  were  some  who  believed  they 
had  obtained  perfect  seeds  furnished  with  embryo,  by  fecundating  the 
pistil  with  very  fine  charcoal  dust,  later  experience  has  entirely  dis- 
proved it.  As  for  the  virtue  attributed  by  authors  to  the  alkaline  salts 
of  the  earth,  or  the  phlogiston  of  the  air,  as  being  capable  of  producing 
the  same  effect,  it  can  now  no  longer  be  supported  without  offending  the 
dignity  and  grandeur  of  science.  Gallesio's  opinion  is  essentially  that 
of  Linnseus,  as  to  the  importance  and  the  action  of  fecundation;  and 
he  follows  Cavolini  in  admitting  that  certain  figs  require  caprification 
and  others  do  not  for  the  ripening  of  their  fruits.  But  he  does  not  see 
the  cause  of  this  diversity  either  in  soil  or  climate,  but  in  their  different 
organization,  believing  that  those  figs  only  which  have  their  flowers  apt 
for  fecundation  require  the  caprifig,  as  well  to  produce  the  embryo  as  to 
ripen  the  fruit.  Nothing  further  can  be  deduced  from  Gallesio's  work, 
in  which,  to  my  mind,  there  is  great  confusion,  owing  partly  to  precon- 


—  38  — 

ceived  and  ill-defined  ideas,  such  as  that  of  the  distinction  between  mule 
and  semi-mule  varieties,  partly  from  the  author  not  having  precisely  stated 
in  what  consists  the  diversity  of  structure  on  which  he  founds  his  theory, 
and,  above  all,  from  this,  that  he  never  himself  saw  the  operation  of  caprifi- 
cation,  nor  examined  the  variety  of  fig  on  which  it  is  performed.  More- 
over, his  own  theory,  which  we  have  perhaps  stated  more  clearly  than 
he  does  himself,  appears  to  be  in  contradiction  with  itself  in  the  two 
principal  points.  For  if,  in  the  variety  called  by  him  semi-mule,  the 
sap  of  the  branch  passes  into  the  receptacle,  attracted  by  the  action  of 
fecundation  and  the  vital  power  of  the  embryo,  how  is  it  that  in  the 
other  variety  the  same  cause  does  not  produce  the  same  effect?  And 
here  let  us  repeat  that  the  different  receptacles  of  the  same  tree,  of 
whatever  sort  the  fig  may  be,  do  not  differ  from  each  other  in  the  least 
in  the  organization  of  the  vessels,  the  parenchyma,  and  the  fibers. 

Such  are  the  ideas  of  authors  on  caprification.  Were  we  certain  that 
Theophrastus  and  Pliny  had  intended  by  the  word  aura  to  denote  the 
pollen,  all  would  have  joined  in  one  general  idea,  that  of  fecundation. 
But  in  the  history  of  the  different  opinions,  as  given  above,  one  remark- 
able fact  is  included,  which  may  not  appear  at  first  sight,  which  is,  that 
with  all  the  subtle  fancies  conceived  by  authors  in  their  theories  and 
explanations,  not  one  of  them  has  put  forward  a  single  experiment;  but 
all,  preoccupied  with  the  certainty  of  the  fact,  have  aspired  at  nothing 
but  discovering  the  reason — even  those  who  had  good  opportunities  of 
actual  observation.  And  Olivier,  in  denying  to  caprification  any  power 
whatever,  comes  to  that  conclusion  not  by  experience,  but  by  a  just  and 
rational  operation  of  the  mind. 

But  as  it  appeared  to  me  not  only  worthy  of  the  labor,  but  most 
essential  to  the  consideration  of  the  subject,  to  ascertain  the  truth  by 
experiment,  I  have  applied  to  it  all  the  care  in  my  power.  The  ques- 
tions I  have  chiefly  endeavored  to  solve  are: 

1.  Does  the  caprifig  fecundate  the  flower -heads  of  the  domestic  fig, 
and  make  them  remain  on  the  tree  in  greater  numbers? 

2.  Does  the  caprifig  fecundate  the  female  flowers  of  autumnal  figs,  and 
make  them  set? 

3.  Does  the  caprifig  hasten  the  maturity  of  the  autumnal  figs,  or  of 
the  fruit  of  any  sort  of  fig? 

4.  Does  the  caprifig  operate  by  means  of  the  puncture  made  by  the 
fly? 

5.  Does  the  caprifig  operate  in  any  other  way  than  any  of  the  pre- 
ceding, and  by  any  process  as  yet  unknown? 

The  figs  near  Naples  which  always  produce  fruit  are  chiefly  of  two 
kinds,  the  Colombro  and  the  so-called  Paradise  fig.  On  two  middling- 
sized  trees — one  of  each  of  these  kinds — I  suspended  towards  the  end  of 
April  some  cratiri*  of  the  caprifig,  called  by  our  cultivators  Mamme  di 
propichi,  or  caprifig  teats.  The  fly  entered  the  flower-heads  of  the  fig, 
but  they  did  not  set  in  greater  numbers  on  each  branch  than  was  the 
case  on  similar  fig  trees  not  caprified,  and  growing  far  from  any  capri- 
fig. In  the  ripe  figs  I  could  not  find  a  single  seed  with  an  embryo;  they 
were  all  sterile;  some  quite  empty,  others  containing  albumen  only,  and 
when  sowed  would  not  germinate. 

*  These  are  explained  in  the  first  part  of  the  memoir  to  be  those  young  figs  of  the 
caprifig  which  first  appear  in  September,  and  remain  through  the  winter  till  the  follow- 
ing spring,  when  they  come  into  flower. 


—  39  — 

At  Baja  the  Dottato  fig  almost  always  ripens  its  fruit.  Whoever 
passes  by  that  district  will  readily  observe  places  where  the  Colombro 
and  the  Dottato  figs  are  so  close  to  the  caprifig  that  their  branches 
intermix.  Yet  there  are  no  signs  among  them  of  early  maturity,  when 
compared  with  similar  fig  grounds  far  from  any  caprifig.  These  figs 
naturally  do  not  bring  all  their  fruits  to  perfection;  those  that  fall  are 
at  Baja  called  Sbufoni,  and  this  usually  takes  place  about  the  end  of 
May  or  the  first  half  of  June. 

In  these  fallen  fruits,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  caprifig,  there  are  generally 
dead  flies,  and  never  seeds  with  embryos.  Out  of  fifty  figs  recently 
fallen  from  a  Colombro,  which  I  examined  on  June  17th,  five  only  con- 
tained no  insect;  the  remainder  had  them  in  greater  or  less  numbers, 
but  were  so  destroyed  inside,  and  black  and  rotten,  owing  to  the  insects 
which  had  died  in  them,  that  to  all  appearance  that  was  the  cause  of 
their  falling.  On  the  same  tree  were  a  number  of  figs  looking  nearly 
ripe,  but  slightly  pricked  and  insipid,  and  which  fell  off  with  a  slight 
shaking  of  the  tree.  Some  of  these  contained  insects,  others  did  not; 
the  former,  like  the  fallen  ones,  were  destroyed,  and  black  inside.  As 
to  the  permanent  or  set  fruits,  which  in  the  middle  of  June  can  well  be 
distinguished  from  the  others,  there  were  some  with  the  insects,  others 
without.  In  the  fallen  fruits  of  the  Dottato  fig  I  did  not  find  one  which 
had  not  the  fly;  but  among  the  permanent  ones  there  were  some  free 
from  it.  These  experiments  and  observations  were  repeated  three  con- 
secutive years,  whilst  every  attempt  proved  vain  at  making  the  seeds  of 
these  figs  germinate,  though  they  were  sown  under  a  variety  of  circum- 
stances, and  at  different  seasons.  The  fly,  therefore,  which  issues  from 
the  oratiri  of  the  caprifig  towards  the  end  of  April  produces  no  effect  on 
the  domestic  fig,  either  in  fecundating  their  female  flowers  or  in  making 
them  remain  on  the  trees,  or  in  hastening  their  maturity.  If  in  the  latter 
respect  a  precocity  may  sometimes  be  observed,  the  difference  is  so  slight 
as  not  to  be  taken  into  account,  considering  the  diversity  of  aspect,  the 
trees  being  more  or  less  exposed  to  the  sun.  The  size  of  the  tree,  the 
being  single  and  uncovered,  or  choked  by  the  surrounding  vegetation, 
may  also  occasion  some  difference,  even  at  very  small  distances.  Indeed, 
the  different  branches  of  one  and  the  same  tree  ripen  their  fruits  at  dif- 
ferent times.  That  the  Dottato  fig  should  ripen  its  fruits  at  Baja  is  not 
to  be  attributed  therefore  to  the  caprifig  planted  there,  but  solely  to  the  cli- 
mate, or  perhaps  to  the  soil,  for  the  same  variety  near  Naples  will  produce 
nothing,  even  with  the  caprifig,  and  in  other  localities  will  do  as  well  as 
at  Baja  without  it.  And  on  the  Lardaro  fig,  which  never  ripens  nat- 
urally, at  least  in  the  vicinity  of  Naples,  although  the  fruit  enlarge  con- 
siderably, and  some  remain  on  the  tree  till  the  end  of  May,  often  as  I 
have  attached  to  it  the  cratiri  of  the  caprifig,  I  never  observed  a  single 
one  ripen.  Therefore,  I  conclude  that  the  remaining  and  maturing  of 
the  figs  depend  upon  two  circumstances — the  intrinsic  properties  or 
natural  disposition  of  the  variety,  and  on  the  quality  of  the  soil  and 
climate. 

6.  Does  Caprification  Hasten  the  Maturity  of  Late  Figs? — In  the  district 
of  Portici  I  made  the  following  experiment:  In  a  large  property  there 
were  two  small  trees  of  the  Sarnese  fig,  distant  from  each  other  about 
two  stone  throws,  and  about  equal  in  size  and  vigor.  To  one  of  them 
only,  about  the  end  of  June,  I  hung  the  flower-heads  of  the  caprifig, 
and  I  counted  the  fruits  upon  each  tree.  In  the  first  days  of  September 


—  40  — 

there  was  no  difference  between  them.  Each  had  some  ripe  figs,  some 
still  sour,  and  others  commenced  ripening.  Counting  them  again,  there 
was  here  also  no  difference,  each  tree  having  lost  about  a  fourth  part  of 
its  fruits.  The  following  year  I  repeated  the  experiment,  with  some 
modification.  I  marked  with  thread  or  with  twine  the  figs  into  which 
I  saw  the  fly  had  penetrated,  and  I  took  care  that  there  Was  no  capri- 
fig  in  the  vicinity  of  the  other  tree.  The  result  of  this  experiment  was 
precisely  the  same  as  that  of  the  preceding  year.  In  the  meantime  I  had 
suspended  five  flower-heads  of  the  caprifig  to  a  large  branch  of  a  Lardaro 
fig  which  rose  considerably  above  the  rest  of  the  tree,  thinking  that  how- 
ever little  the  caprifig  might  hasten  the  maturity,  the  slight  difference 
would  nowhere  be  more  perceptible  than  in  the  different  branches  of  the 
same  tree.  Yet  when  maturity  commenced  numerous  fruits  on  all  parts 
of  the  tree  were  in  the  same  state  as  those  of  the  branch  in  question. 
Now  it  appears  improbable,  not  to  say  impossible,  that  those  five  capri- 
fig flower-heads  should  have  furnished  insects  enough  for  so  great  a 
number  of  figs. 

I  repeated  the  experiment  for  four  years,  and  always  with  the  same 
results,  though  in  different  localities.  At  the  Camaldoli,  where  capri- 
fication  is  not  practiced  and  the  caprifig  very  rare,  I  caprified  copiously 
a  Dottato  fig  and  two  white  fig  trees,  and  none  of  the  three  showed 
the  least  sign  of  precocity.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  the  insect  does 
not  at  all  hasten  maturity.  It  must  only  be  observed  that  maturity 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  a  certain  early  softening  which  happens 
to  some  of  the  deciduous  fruits  pierced  by  the  insect.  For,  as  will  be 
seen  hereafter,  the  fly  destroys  and  corrupts  the  inside  of  the  fig;  when 
it  is  already  disposed  to  fall,  it  falls  the  earlier,  and  by  rotting  inside 
becomes  soft  the  sooner. 

7.  Does  Caprification  Cause  Late  Figs  to  Set  in  Greater  Numbers  than 
Usual  f — The  advocates  of  caprification  affirm  that  in  certain  varieties 
it  causes  all,  or  the  greater  number  of  fruits,  to  remain  on  the  tree, 
which  otherwise  would  have  fallen  off.  To  verify  this  assertion  I  have 
many  times  made  the  common  experiment  which  would  occur  naturally 
to  any  one,  that  of  comparing  fig  trees  of  the  same  variety  to  some  only 
of  which  the  caprifig  had  been  brought,  in  order  to  observe  the  difference. 
Those  I  have  observed  with  that  view  are  the  Lardaro,  the  Sarnese,  the 
Colombro,  and  the  Sampiero.  With  regard  to  the  first  two,  the  experi- 
ments were  made  in  different  localities,  especially  on  the  Sarnese,  which 
is  very  common.  None  of  them  showed  the  slightest  effect  of  the  action 
of  the  fly,  in  regard  to  the  quantity  of  the  fruit;  and  if  ever  any  differ- 
ences were  exhibited  between  the  caprified  trees  and  those  not  acted  on 
by  the  caprifig,  either  in  favor  of  or  against  caprification,  they  could 
always,  on  being  well  considered,  be  clearly  traceable  to  other  causes 
(not  to  speak  of  soil,  climate,  vicissitudes  of  seasons,  etc.),  as  for  exam- 
ple, to  the  age  or  vigor  of  the  subject,  the  number  of  branches,  the 
having  been  or  not  enfeebled  by  a  previous  superabundant  crop,  etc. 
And  what  I  say  of  the  Sarnese  may  in  like  manner  be  said  of  the 
Lardaro,  with  this  exception,  that  being  cultivated  almost  exclusively 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Capital,  I  had  no  opportunity  of 
observing  it  in  distant  localities.  Cultivators  affirm  that  this  variety 
more  than  any  other  stands  in  need  of  caprification,  and  indeed  it  loses 
generally  nearly  the  half  of  its  fruits.  But  of  this  variety  I  will  only 
state  two  things,  not  to  fall  into  lengthy  repetitions:  First,  that  the 


—  41  — 

caprified  trees  lose  also  a  great  quantity  of  their  figs;  and  next,  that 
those  not  caprified  ripen  many  of  theirs,  with  such  differences  as  are 
occasioned  by  the  above-mentioned  causes  or  others  to  which  I  shall 
presently  advert. 

The  double-bearing  figs,  such  as  the  Paradise,  the  Colombro,  and  the 
Sampiero,  usually  bring  many  of  their  early  figs  to  maturity,  and  but 
few  or  none  of  the  late  ones;  and  cultivators  affirm  that  by  caprification 
an  abundant  second  crop  may  be  obtained.  Although  I  had  often  seen  the 
Colombro  ripen  many  of  the  late  crop  without  the  caprifig,  I  neverthe- 
less wished  to  see  the  results  of  comparative  experiment.  Therefore,  in 
the  beginning  of  July,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Pianura,  I  gave  the  cap- 
rifig to  several  trees  of  the  Colombro  fig;  amongst  them  many  had  lost 
all  their  figs  by  the  middle  of  August,  some  retained  a  few;  they  had 
fared  like  other  trees  of  the  same  sort  not  caprified  and  placed  at  a  con- 
siderable distance.  Among  the  fallen  fruits  some  contained  the  insect, 
others  did  not,  and  it  was  the  same  with  those  that  remained  on  the 
trees  and  were  advancing  toward  maturity.  Amongst  these  Colombro 
figs  were  several  trees  of  the  Sampiero,  of  which  four  were  caprified. 
The  result  was  that  two  of  them  lost  all  their  figs,  both  those  at  the  base 
of  the  fruit-branches,  called  pedagnuoli,  and  those  of  the  extremities, 
called  cimaruoli.  The  other  two  trees  scarcely  ripened  a  fourth  part, 
and  those  chiefly  cimaruoli,  and  the  fly  had  penetrated  into  some  of  the 
fallen  fruits.  It  must  be  noted,  moreover,  that  the  above  fig  trees  were 
all  of  the  same  age,  in  the  same  soil,  with  the  same  exposure,  and  all 
more  or  less  had  brought  to  maturity  a  good,  early  crop.  The  same 
experiment,  repeated  at  Ischia  on  two  trees  of  the  Colombro,  produced 
no  result.  For  if  these  trees  were  pretty  well  loaded,  the  same  thing 
took  place  in  many  other  parts  of  the  island  without  caprification,  and 
not  infrequently  in  the  same  places  were  fig  trees  near  to  each  other, 
some  with  and  some  without  fruits,  without  anything  appearing  to  show 
a  probable  reason  for  such  diversity. 

8.  Does  the  Caprifig,  by  the  Assistance  of  its  Insect,  Fecundate  the 
Female  Flowers  of  the  Late  Figs? — As  soon  as  botanists  learned,  from  the 
observations  of  Pontedera,  that  the  flowers  of  the  different  varieties  of 
the  domestic  fig  were  always  all  female,  as  well  in  the  early  as  in  the  late 
flowers,  and  as  they  believed  that  the  caprifig  was  the  male  plant,  they 
at  once,  by  common  consent,  without  further  observation,  concluded 
that  these  female  flowers  could  only  be  fecundated  by  means  of  the 
insect — recognizing  in  this  a  providence  of  nature  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  that  important  function.  And  I,  myself,  having  ascertained 
the  correctness  of  the  fact  stated,  came  naturally  to  the  same  conclu- 
sion, although  I  had  ascertained  that  the  caprifig  was  not  the  male  of 
the  fig,  but  a  very  different  plant.  But  in  the  course  of  time  doubts 
gradually  suggested  themselves  to  my  mind,  to  remove  which  I  devoted 
myself  to  ulterior  researches.  First,  it  appeared  to  me  impossible  that 
in  all  sorts  of  early  figs  there  should  never  be  a  single  fertile  seed,  even 
when  male  flowers  were  present.  Yet,  after  repeated  examinations,  I 
always  found  such  to  be  the  case.  This  must  not  excite  surprise,  how- 
ever, on  considering  that  the  flies  which  enter  these  come  from  the 
cratiri  (the  young  figs  of  the  caprifig  that  were  first  formed  in  the 
previous  autumn),  in  which  are  either  no  male  flowers  or  very  few,  and 
those  almost  always  imperfect,  and  with  little  or  no  pollen.  And  then, 
if  in  these  early  figs  I  occasionally  found  a  male  flower,  it  was  only 


—  42  — 

formed  long  after  the  female  flowers,  and  its  anthers  never  opened,  so 
that  any  one  might  conclude  that  if  there  were  no  fertile  seeds  it  was 
for  want  of  fecundation.  What  is  surprising,  is  the  fact  that  in  the  late 
figs  the  embryo  is  produced  especially  in  the  pedagnuoli  (at  the  base  of 
its  branches),  and  in  hot  situations,  whether  the  tree  be  caprified  or 
not.  The  White  fig,  the  Dottato,  and  others  which  the  Neapolitans  do 
not  caprify,  produce  abundance  of  fertile  seeds,  even  in  places  where 
caprification  is  never  practiced,  and  where  the  caprifig  itself  is  rare,  as, 
for  example,  at  Camaldoli,  Ischia,  etc.  But  such  observations  always 
leave  some  doubt  whether  the  insect  may  not  have  come  from  some- 
where else,  and  effected  fecundation.  In  reply  to  which  it  must  be 
remembered,  in  the  first  place,  that  this  insect,  when  he  issues  from  his 
nest,  flies  with  difficulty  to  any  considerable  distance;  and  next,  that 
after  he  has  entered  the  fig  he  dies  there,  and  is  afterwards  to  be  found 
either  entire  or  partly  decomposed;  at  the  least  there  remains,  as  a  sign 
of  his  having  been  inside,  a  brown  spot,  which  easily  turns  to  decay. 

Now,  in  places  where  there  are  no  caprifigs,  and  where  caprification  is 
not  practiced,  I  have  found  the  seeds  perfect  in  figs  which  did  not  show 
the  least  sign  of  the  insect  having  penetrated.  Besides,  towards  the 
middle  of  July  I  impregnated  artificially  thirty  flower-heads  on  a  Lar- 
daro  fig,  by  introducing  into  the  aperture  the  pollen  of  the  caprifig;  one 
month  after  ten  of  them  had  fallen  from  the  tree  without  their  seeds 
being  fertilized,  and  the  remaining  ones  did  not  differ,  either  in  size  or 
in  the  number  of  fertile  seeds  they  contained,  from  the  numerous  others 
of  the  same  tree  which  had  neither  been  caprified  nor  artificially 
impregnated.  Not  satisfied  by  all  this,  I  made  three  consecutive  years 
an  experiment  which  appears  to  me  more  important  than  all  the  above- 
mentioned  observations.  Before  any  flies  began  to  issue  from  the 
caprifig  flower-heads,  I  closed  the  apertures  of  some  still  small  figs  of 
the  Lardaro  and  Sarnese  varieties  with  gum  arabic  mixed  with  chalk, 
so  as  to  prevent  the  insect,  should  he  attempt  it,  from  penetrating 
withinside;  and  I  took  care  to  add  some  of  the  mixture  as  the  figs  grew, 
to  keep  them  well  closed.  When  they  attained  their  full  size  I  opened 
them;  they  showed  no  sign  whatever  of  the  fly  having  penetrated,  yet 
they  contained  seeds  with  perfect,  well-formed  embryo.  If  this  experi- 
ment is  made  upon  trees  to  which  the  caprifig  is  afterwards  applied,  it 
is  a  curious  thing  to  see  the  fly,  after  issuing  from  its  nest,  seek  a  place 
to  deposit  its  eggs,  and,  lighting  upon  the  closed  fig,  exert  itself  with  all 
its  might  to  penetrate  all  around  the  mouth,  trying  to  force  it  open 
where  it  was  only  slightly  green,  and  finally,  seeing  -all  its  endeavors 
hopeless,  turn  away  from  it.  This  experiment  clearly  proved  that  cap- 
rification was  not  necessary  to  generate  the  embryo  of  the  fig,  though  it 
was  not  conclusive  as  to  impregnation  not  being  requisite.  For  it 
might  have  happened  that  some  organ  or  other  under  some  strange 
form  might  contain  the  pollen,  and  be  found  on  or  amongst  the  female 
flowers. 

With  this  view  I  examined  with  the  microscope,  with  all  the  care  in 
my  power,  all  the  internal  parts  of  the  fig  in  every  stage,  from  its  first 
appearance  to  the  attaining  its  full  size — the  scales  under  the  mouth, 
the  pedicels,  the  bracts,  the  perigone,  the  pistil  from  the  base  to  the 
summit — and  I  never  succeeded  in  discovering  anything  which  con- 
tained pollen,  or  any  other  analogous  substance  which  might  be  even 
suspected  of  producing  impregnation.  Only  it  must  be  observed  that 


—  43  — 

on  the  style,  from  its  young  state  till  shortly  after  the  changes  that  take 
place  in  the  ovulum,*or  about  that  time,  there  appear  certain  obscure 
grains,  whiqh  at  first  sight  have  some  resemblance  to  those  of  pollen. 
On  attentive  examination  they  proved  to  be  little  glands  with  the  ap- 
pearance of  wrinkled  grains,  composed  of  cellular  tissue;  and  as  they 
first  appear  so  they  remain.  The  same  grains  appear  also  in  the  capri- 
fig  and  in  exotic  figs.  Besides,  it  appears  that  the  style  has  not  the 
tissue  for  conducting  the  pollen,  unless  you  would  give  that  name  to 
the  internal  part  of  the  style,  formed  of  longer  and  more  slender  cells 
than  those  of  the  exterior,  as  may  be  so  frequently  observed  in  length- 
ened slender  organs  of  numerous  dicotyledonous  plants.  Thus  every 
attempt  on  my  part  to  discover  any  need  of  the  fecundating  substance 
of  stamens  to  produce  the  embryo  had  failed.  And,  if  I  am  not  mis- 
taken, this  is  not  an  isolated  fact  in  the  science,  Mr.  J.  Smith  having 
(Transactions  of  the  Linnsean  Society,  1840)  already  announced  that 
the  female  of  a  dioecious  plant,  indigenous  to  New  Holland,  of  the  family 
of  Euphorbiacese,  called  by  him  Coelebogyne,  bears  in  London*  fertile 
seeds  without  a  male  flower  having  been  discovered  on  it,  and  without 
any  suspicion  that  it  could  have  been  impregnated  by  the  pollen  of  any 
allied  plant;  and  whoever,  in  answer  to  what  I  have  stated  of  the  fig, 
should  allege  the  assertion  of  Linnaeus,  that  this  tree  only  produces 
good  fruit  where  the  caprifig  grows,  must  recollect  what  I  have  said 
respecting  it — that  differences  in  climate  and  season  more  or  less  hot  cause 
more  or  less  of  the  seeds  to  remain  empty,  and  that  on  that  account,  in 
the  northern  parts  of  Europe  and  in  stoves,  the  seeds  would  probably 
always  remain  sterile. 

So  it  is  with  our  Vernino  fig,  as  to  the  fruits  which  it  ripens  in  the 
open  air  in  November  and  December,  and  with  that  treble-bearing  La 
Cava  fig,  which  will  sometimes  ripen  in  a  room  in  the  depth  of  winter. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  appearance  of  the  summer  figs  at  a  time  when 
the  flower-heads  of  the  caprifig  are  in  a  state  of  perfection,  the  insect 
ready  to  come  out,  shows  in  a  manner  a  final  cause,  which  can  hardly 
be  anything  but  fecundation.  This  consideration  has  always  deterred 
me  from  publishing  the  results  of  the  above-mentioned  experiments, 
and  has  been  the  cause  of  my  repeating  them  so  often.  What  may  be 
really  the  design  of  nature  in  this  combination  I  confess  I  am  ignorant 
of.  Nor  do  I  pretend,  with  the  single  example  of  the  fig,  to  disprove 
so  universal  a  fact  as  is  the  necessity  of  the  concurrence  of  pollen  and 
impregnation  for  the  generating  of  the  seminal  embryo,  proved  by  innum- 
erable experiments  made  by  so  many  distinguished  men  for  a  century 
back.  I  only  state  what  I  have  seen  in  this  plant,  it  being  possible  that 
others  with  a  more  acute  judgment  than  my  own  may  loosen  the  knot 
and  discover  one  of  the  numerous  contrivances  by  which  nature  meets  so 
frequently  her  wants,  when  for  the  fulfilling  of  some  particular  end  she 
adopts  secret  and  complicated  modes,  with  strange  and  unusual  dis- 
guises. 

9.  Does  the  Fly  Cause  the  Setting  and  afterwards  the  Early  Maturity 
of  the  Fig  by  the  Puncture  it  makes  in  it? — The  ancients  believed  that 
the  quantity  of  humor  in  the  fig  might  be  the  cause  of  the  late  ripen- 
ing of  its  fruits,  or  by  suffocating  them  that  of  their  falling  off  when 
still  sour,  and  that  whatever  diminished  the  quantity  of  humor,  if,  it 

*  At  Kew  Gardens. 


—  44  — 

did  not  cause  them  to  set,  at  least  would  aid  in  that  operation.  And 
the  celebrated  Tournefort  was  of  opinion  that  the  insect  produced  that 
effect  by  piercing  or  gnawing  the  mouth,  or  the  inside  of  the  fig,  so  as  to 
draw  out  the  superabundant  fluids.  This  opinion  has  been  followed  by 
many  among  the  moderns,  it  appearing  to  them  that  the  case  of  the  fig 
should  be  in  every  respect  compared  with  what  occurs  often  in  pear,  apple, 
and  other  fruit  trees,  in  which  it  is  manifest  that  the  blighted  fruits  ripen 
some  days  before  the  others;  and  Bernard,  of  Marseilles,  a  distinguished 
agriculturist,  as  I  read  in  Gallesio,  is  of  the  same  opinion,  it  appearing 
to  him  that  what  happens  from  the  fly  can  be  proved  artificially  by 
pricking  the  unripe  figs  with  an  awl,  or  even  with  a  straw,  and  putting 
a  little  oil  on  the  puncture.  But  I  think  that  such  ideas  and  reason- 
ings, founded  on  analogy,  are  worth  nothing  in  the  present  case,  for 
before  coming  to  the  explanation,  they  ought  first  to  have  ascertained 
whether  in  fact  the  fly  does  or  does  not  hasten  the  maturity  of  the  fruit, 
and  we  have  already  seen  that  it  does  not.  Besides,  it  is  not  proved  yet 
that  the  insect  pierces  the  mouth  of  the  fig  at  all,  nor  any  other  part, 
excepting,  perhaps,  the  ovary  in  order  to  deposit  its  eggs  in  it;  on  the 
contrary,  I  believe  that  it  never  does;  for  looking  with  attention,  I  have 
observed  it  make  its  way  from  scale  to  scale,  sometimes  unable  to  over- 
come the  resistance  they  oppose,  nor  ever  breaking  through  any  of  them 
to  clear  its  way;  and  these  scales,  examined  under  the  microscope,  showed 
no  injury  from  the  passage  of  the  insect.  But  supposing  the  fly  to  have 
pierced  or  otherwise  injured*  some  scale  or  other,  it  does  not  follow  thence 
that  the  fig  must  ripen  earlier,  when  we  often  see  it  injured  or  gnawed 
away  in  some  places — ants  often  enlarge  the  mouth  and  carry  away  the 
scales — and  yet  these  injured  fruits  either  never  ripen  earlier,  or  very 
rarely  so,  and  that  from  other  causes.  That  puncture  and  oil  hasten  the 
maturity  is  proved  by  experiment,  but  this  puncture  operates  in  a  dif- 
ferent manner,  in  my  opinion,  from  that  which  insects  make  into  the 
ovaries  of  pears  and  apples  to  deposit  their  eggs.  For  amongst  the  pears 
and  apples  containing  insects'  eggs,  some,  whilst  they  are  growing  and 
still  acid,  become  diseased  and  fall;  others,  continuing  to  grow  like  those 
that  are  not  touched,  become  soft  when  the  grub  issues  from  the  egg  and 
commences  feeding  on  the  pulp;  and  this  pulp  is  then  sometimes,  but 
not  always  as  some  believe,  of  a  good  flavor.  But  the  fig  in  the  above- 
mentioned  experiment  does  not  ripen  from  the  puncture,  but  from  the 
oil,  as  the  same  effect  is  produced  by  putting  a  little  on  the  mouth  of  the 
fig.  How  it  produces  that  effect  on  the  fig  is  unknown  to  me;  being  put 
on  the  mouth  it  contracts  it,  then  gradually  the  oil  spreads,  and  wherever 
it  reaches  the  dark  green  color  of  the  epidermis  changes  to  a  bright  green. 
I  thought  that  I  perceived  that  it  did  not  affect  the  milky  juice  in  the 
least,  but  rather  impeded  evaporation  or  other  functions  of  the  epidermis, 
as  well  in  respect  of  light  as  of  air,  and  that  on  that  account  the  anointed 
fig  commenced  ripening  from  the  base,  and  was  inferior  in  flavor  to  those 
ripened  naturally.  But  to  return  to  the  case  of  the  fly:  it  neither  pierces 
nor  gnaws  the  substance  of  the  fig,  and  if  it  inserts  its  eggs  into  the 
ovary,  tvhich  I  can  neither  affirm  nor  deny,  it  is  certain  that  nothing  is 
hatched  from  them;  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  does  not  even 
pierce  the  ovary,  as  it  does  not  prevent  the  formation  of  the  embryo,  and 
the  difference  between  the  fig  and  the  caprifig  is  very  great. 

10.  Action  of  Fruits  which  are  Ripe  and  in  a  State  of  Decomposition 
upon  those  which  are  Younger  and  Sour. — In  making  my  experiments  on 


—  45  — 

caprification,  as  I  was  at  a  loss  to  conceive  in  what  manner,  visible  or 
concealed,  the  fly  operated,  it  occurred  to  me  that  possibly  the  caprifig 
flower-heads  suspended  to  the  fig  tree  and  rotting  there  might  pos- 
sibly, by  their  close  proximity  to  the  sound  figs,  excite  in  them  some 
similar  alteration,  which  might  bring  on  a  premature  softening.  This 
suspicion  arose  from  observing  in  stores  of  apples  and  pears  that  any 
rotten  ones  amongst  them  readily  communicated  their  decay  to  the  sound. 
In  applying  this  to  our  case  I  did  not  intend  to  put  forth  any  theory  on 
the  subject,  as  the  science  has  not  as  yet  any  means  of  determining 
what  it  is  that  brings  on  the  decay  of  any  particular  fruit,  nor  its  effect 
on  others  around  it;  but  what  cannot  be  known  by  direct  experiment 
may  frequently  be  admitted  or  presumed  by  analogy  and  comparison; 
and  as  to  the  present  question,  as  we  have  proved  that  the  caprifig  does 
not  hasten  the  maturity  of  figs,  it  follows  that  such  a  discussion  is  idle. 
Nevertheless  it  may  not  be  wholly  useless,  I  think,  to  take  the  oppor- 
tunity of  relating  an  experiment  I  made  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
what  I  have  alluded  to. 

Oranges,  when  they  decay,  produce  mold  and  emit  an  offensive  smell. 
On  that  account,  and  by  reason  of  their  temperature  being  probably 
affected  during  the  change,  I  suspected  that  decayed  oranges  might,  on 
the  tree,  cause  the  healthy  ones  around  them  to  rot;  I  therefore  gath- 
ered several  oranges  with  their  stalks  and  laid  them  by,  and  as  some 
began  to  rot  I  hung  them  by  a  bit  of  twine  close  to  others  which  were 
perfectly  sound.  The  experiment  lasted  about  a  fortnight,  by  which 
time  the  moldy  oranges  had  dried  up,  but  none  of  the  others,  not  even 
a,  single  one,  caught  the  disease,  and  all  remained  sound  a  long  time 
after.  It  then  occurred  to  me  that  if  the  mold  touched  the  skin  of  the 
healthy  orange  it  might  produce  the  decay;  I  therefore  scattered  the 
dust  (or  otherwise,  the  seeds  or  spores)  of  the  mold  in  great  quantities 
on  some  oranges,  and  on  others  I  introduced  it  underneath  the  skin,  as 
a  contagious  disorder  is  inoculated.  But  nothing  of  what  might  have 
been  predicted  happened;  the  wound,  instead  of  festering,  dried  up, 
and  in  one  orange,  which  after  some  time  began  to  decay,  the  rot 
appeared  on  the  opposite  side  to  that  of  the  wound.  From  this  experi- 
ment, I  should  say  that  if  oranges  when  moldy  and  exhaling  an  offen- 
sive smell  do  not  communicate  the  disease  to  healthy  ones  on  the  tree, 
and  if  the  mold  only  propagates  on  oranges  already  decaying,  is  it 
credible  that  ripe  figs  of  the  caprifig,  beginning  to  decompose,  should 
produce  such  an  effect  on  the  young  domestic  fig? 

11.  Examination  of  Fallen  Figs. — If  the  insect  has  penetrated  into 
the  fig  it  can  be  known  at  once  by  opening  it,  and  sometimes  even  that 
is  not  necessary  when  the  insect  is  entangled  and  suffocated  amongst  the 
first  scales  of  the  mouth,  leaving  outside  its  wings  and  the  posterior 
parts  of  its  body.  If,  however,  it  reaches  the  inside  of  the  fig  below 
the  scales,  it  does  not  easily  decay*,  but  remains  nearly  entire  till  the 
fig  begins  to  show  signs  of  maturity;  then  it  becomes  buried  in  the 
swelling  and  softening  florets,  and  soon  decays.  But  whenever  the 
insect  dies  immediately  the  surrounding  parts  turn  brown,  and  subse- 
quently blacken  and  rot,  even  the  scales  of  the  mouth,  which  are  harder 
than  the  other  part*,  but  especially  the  stigmata  and  styles  in  the  cavity, 
as  they  project  beyond  the  perigone  and  bracts,  and  not  infrequently 
also  the  ovary  and  part  of  the  receptacle.  This  rarely  happens  where 
•the  insect  does  not  penetrate,  and  if  the  style  discolors  or  dries  up,  it 


—  46  — 

never  becomes  black  or  rots.  At  any  rate,  experience  is  a  better  guide 
than  words,  and  a  single  glance  of  a  practiced  eye  will  tell  with  cer- 
tainty whether  the  fly  has  been  in  the  fig  or  not.  Now,  every  variety  of 
fig  sheds  a  certain  number  of  its  fruits,  some  more,  some  less;  and  in 
the  opinion  of  cultivators,  the  Lardaro,  the  Chiaja,  and  the  Sarnese 
would  lose  all  or  most  of  theirs  but  for  caprification.  If  such  were  the 
case,  one  would  naturally  conclude  that  what  fruits  should  fall  after 
caprification  would  be  precisely  those  in  which  the  fly  had  not  entered. 
With  this  view  I,  one  year,  set  to  examining  all  the  figs  that  had  fallen 
from  the  Lardaro,  the  Chiaja,  and  the  Sarnese,  all  caprified.  On  July 
29th  (the  fall  of  the  fig  commences  towards  the  end  of  this  month  and 
the  beginning  of  the  next)  I  collected  under  the  Sarnese  sixty-seven 
fruits,  of  which  thirty-five  had  the  insect;  three  days  after  thirty-one, 
of  which  twenty-four  had  the  insect;  the  remainder  were  black  inside, 
but  without  any  fly — perhaps  it  had  got  out  again.  Afterwards  I  found 
one  hundred  and  twenty-two  fruits  with  the  insect,  one  hundred  and 
forty-one  without.  They  were  of  different  sizes,  pedagnuoli  which  had 
first  appeared  in  June,  and  cimaruoli  of  July. 

This  experiment  does  not  prove,  indeed,  whether  caprification  had 
been  of  use  or  not,  except  that  if  it  had  worked  as  the  cultivators 
believed,  we  ought  at  least  to  have  found  the  largest  proportion  without 
the  insect,  when,  on  the  contrary,  those  with  the  insect  equaled  the 
others,  or  surpassed  them  in  number,  admitting  that  the  fly  had  left 
many.  Where  I  made  this  experiment  I  left  at  a  certain  distance  another 
Sarnese  tree  without  the  caprifig,  under  which  I  at  several  times  collected 
two  hundred  and  forty  fruits,  amongst  which  thirty  contained  the  insect, 
which  had  come  from  other  trees,  although  at  a  distance.  I  wished  to 
compare  the  number  of  fallen  fruits  of  the  two  trees,  but  I  found  it 
almost  impossible  to  ascertain  how  many  fell  and  how  many  remained; 
and  where  this  could  be  done  the  conclusions  were  fallacious,  as  it 
was  difficult  to  find  two  trees  of  precisely  the  same  vigor  and  tempera- 
ment. Near  the  one  of  which  I  speak  was  a  variety  of  the  other,  pro- 
duced from  a  seed  which  had  sown  itself  in  the  fissure  of  an  old  wall, 
with  the  fruit  rather  larger,  the  peduncle  rather  longer,  the  pulp  rather 
finer  and  whiter. 

On  July  24th  I  found  fourteen  fruits  of  the  Lardaro  with  the  insect, 
and  twenty-seven  without;  on  the  30th,  under  several  caprified  Lardaro 
trees,  I  collected  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pedagnuoli  (about  an  inch 
long),  and  a  great  number  of  cimaruoli.  Of  the  first,  sixty-six,  with  the 
styles  decayed  and  blackened,  contained  the  insect;  twenty -nine  had 
them  similarly  decayed,  but  the  insect  had  probably  escaped,  and  sev- 
enty-three without  the  fly  had  not  altered  inside.  Amongst  the  cima- 
ruoli some  had  the  insect,  some  not.  On  August  2d,  fifty-five  pedagnuoli 
with  the  fly,  twenty-five  without,  and  a  great  many  cimaruoli,  as  before. 
On  August  9th,  forty-eight  with  the  insect,  fifty-six  without;  on  the  17th, 
about  two  hundred  with  the  insect,  and  as  many  without.  Thus,  out  of 
seven  hundred  and  ninety-three  fallen  figs  of  the  Lardaro,  a  little  more 
than  half  (four  hundred  and  twelve)  contained  the  insect;  the  others 
(three  hundred  and  eighty-one)  did  not,  and  showed  no  sign  of  decay  or 
other  change.  • 


JULTWAt 


-  47  -  LIBRARY, 

Of  the  Chiaja  fig  I  counted  of  fallen  fruits,  pedagnuoU'&tid.  mm 

Containing  the  fly— 


August  3d  _____________  ----  .....  __________________  ........  ---------  .........  -  ......  473 


Total  _____  .........  -  ............  ------  ..............  ---------------  .........  --    945 

Without  the  fly- 

July  24th  .........  ------  ...............  -  ..............  .--  .....  -------  ............    46 

July  27th  ........  -  ................  -----  ................  -  ...........  -------  .....  —     20 

July  29th  .............  .  ............  --  ..........  -—  ................  --------  .....    47 

August  3d  _______  .....  .  .....................  -----------  ................  -  .....  -----  127 

Total  _____________  .........  -   .......  ------------  ................  ---------------  240 

In  this  case  there  appears  a  great  surplus  among  the  fallen  fruits  of 
those  into  which  the  insect  had  penetrated,  so  that  its  effect  appears 
rather  to  have  been  prejudicial.  The  trees  had  been  abundantly  capri- 
fied,  and  in  every  fruit  there  were  generally  more  than  one  insect  in  the 
cavity  or  amongst  the  scales;  but  more  frequently  amongst  these,  and 
around  the  insects,  there  were  evident  signs  of  corruption.  The  fruits 
without  insects  generally  showed  no  alteration,  excepting  that  in  some 
the  greater  part  or  all  the  styles  were  faded,  dried  up,  or  slightly  dis- 
colored. But  the  results  of  the  above-mentioned  enumeration  must  not 
be  considered  as  invariable,  for  the  same  fig  tree  bears  very  differently 
in  different  years,  according  to  the  season,  as  well  as  to  the  quantity  it 
bore  the  preceding  year;  and,  besides,  the  finding  more  or  less  of  the 
fruits  with  insects  depends  on  the  greater  or  less  quantity  of  caprified 
fruits  suspended,  and  the  period  when  that  was  done,  as  there  are  some 
cultivators  who  caprify  three  times,  and  then  the  insect  is  found  as  well 
in  the  pedagnuoli  as  in  the  cimaruoli.  Last  year,  having  returned  to  the 
same  fig  trees,  and  again  examining  their  fallen  fruits,  I  found  the  pro- 
portions a  little  different  from  those  I  had  ascertained  the  previous 
year.  In  the  Sarnese  fig  the  fallen  fruits  without  insects  surpassed  the 
others  by  about  a  third;  in  the  Chiaja  and  the  White  fig  the  numbers 
with  and  without  the  insect  were  about  equal,  and  in  the  Lardaro  the 
proportions  were  much  the  same  as  in  the  preceding  year. 

Although  I  examined  an  infinity  of  ovaries  in  the  fallen  caprified 
fruits,  I  never  could  discover  with  the  microscope  the  least  sign  of  their 
having  been  pierced  by  the  insect  to  introduce  its  eggs,  and  never  found 
anything  within  resembling  a  grub;  thence  it  is  probable  that  the  insect 
does  not  pierce  them.  I  say  this  in  order  to  call  attention  to  the  circum- 
stance that  the  blackening  and  decay  around  the  ovary  is  not  to  be  attrib- 
uted to  the  puncture,  which  we  do  not  know  to  take  place,  but  to  the  body 
of  the  insect  itself,  which  produces  the  effect  either  by  some  unknown 
action,  or  by  some  acrid  humor  it  contains.  Thus,  from  the  above  observa- 
tions, it  may  be  concluded  that  the  fly  of  the  caprifig  is  rather  injurious, 
and  that  far  from  making  the  fruits  remain  on  the  tree,  it  either  causes 
or  facilitates  their  fall,  especially  when  it  has  penetrated  into  the  inside 
and  produces  decay,  where  it  dies.  But  this  I  think  will  happen  rather 
to  the  deciduous  than  to  the  permanent  fruits,  because  the  first,  even 
though  they  be  pedagnuoli,  are  by  their  nature  disposed  to  fall,  hold 
but  slightly  to  the  branch,  have  but  little  firmness  in  their  pulp,  the 
florets  but  little  grown,  and  the  inner  cavity  large.  If  with  this  bad 
conformation,  either  natural  or  superinduced  pending  the  growth,  the 
fly  comes  to  inflict  further  damage,  every  one  must  see  that  the  fruit 


—  48  — 

cannot  on  that  account  remain  longer  on  the  tree  than  it  would  other- 
wise. 

Amongst  a  great  number  of  fallen  fruits,  some,  whether  with  or  with- 
out the  insect,  showed  a  few  florets  which  had  grown  more  than  the 
others,  and  had  had  time  to  form  their  embryo. 

12.  Examination  of  Permanent  Figs. — The  examination  qf  the  fallen 
figs  was  naturally  followed  by  that  of  those  which  remain  on  the  tree 
to  ripen,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  they  contained  the  insect,  and 
whether  it  induced  decay.  But  in  this  research  a  source  of  error  might 
lie  in  the  mistaking  for  permanent  fruits  those  which  might  still  fall 
before  they  ripen;  these,  however,  although  they  may  appear  to  hold 
firmly  onto  the  bough,  may  be  known  practically  by  a  peculiar  look, 
by  being  usually  badly  formed,  imperfectly  nourished,  of  a  paler  green 
than  the  rest,  and  emitting  when  pierced  a  small  quantity  only  of  a 
thinner  milky  juice  than  the  sound  ones. 

On  August  1st  I  cut  from  a  caprified  Sarnese  fig  a  branch  bearing 
eight  fruits;  one  ready  to  fall  contained  the  insect;  so  did  three  others 
of  a  doubtful  kind,  that  is  to  say,  not  showing  clearly  whether  they 
would  come  to  maturity  or  fall  prematurely,  they  showed  the  usual 
blackening,  although  slight,  of  the  ovary.  The  remaining  four,  inter- 
mingled with  the  others,  were  strongly  attached  to  the  bough,  had  no 
fly  withinside,  and  showed  no  sign  of  alteration.  Two  days  later  I  cut 
from  the  same  tree  another  branch  with  sixteen  fruits,  of  which  one 
with  the  blackened  styles  from  the  presence  of  the  fly  was  in  the  act  of 
falling;  two  of  middling  size  and  firmly  attached  contained  the  insect, 
not  in  the  cavity,  but  amongst  the  scales  of  the  mouth,  and  were  little 
if  at  all  affected;  a  fourth,  the  youngest  of  all,  although  it  contained  the 
insect,  appeared  to  be  set,  and  was  not  injured.  The  remaining  twelve, 
all  pedagnuoli  of  middling  size,  were  sound  and  secure,  had  neither  fly 
nor  any  sign  of  decay.  On  August  5th  I  cut  a  third  branch  with  eleven 
fruits  all  set;  four  contained  the  insect,  the  other  seven  did  not.  In 
the  district  of  Portici  a  branch  of  the  same  variety  of  fig  with  nine 
fruits  had  the  insect  in  two  fruits  ready  to  fall  and  in  three  permanent 
ones.  At  the  same  time  on  a  Sarnese  fig  I  found,  besides  a  number  of 
fruits  ready  to  fall,  with  the  fly,  thirty-seven  permanent  and  large 
fruits,  of  which  ten  had  the  fly.  From  a  Chiaja  fig  copiously  caprified 
I  detached  in  the  beginning  of  August  forty- three  well  set  figs,  of  which 
only  thirteen  were  without  the  insect,  which  in  the  others  was  either 
among  the  scales  of  the  mouth  or  in  the  cavity,  or  in  both;  but  always 
when  among  the  scales  it  does  little  damage.  And  the  following  year, 
among  eighty  fruits  of  the  same  tree  thirty-nine  only  had  the  fly,  which 
I  also  found  in  seventy-four  out  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-four  fruits 
of  the  White  fig.  In  the  first  days  of  July  I  suspended  some  caprifig 
flower-heads  to  a  small  tree  of  the  Lardaro  which  had  one  hundred  and 
seventy  fruits;  in  the  course  of  the  month  forty-three  had  fallen;  I 
gathered  on  August  14th  the  remaining  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven, 
which  had  become  consolidated.  Having  opened  them,  I  found  them 
sound,  with  good  seeds;  about  thirty  only  contained  the  fly,  which  had 
done  little  if  any  injury  to  the  florets. 

-The  facts  noted  of  the  Sarnese  and  Lardaro  figs  prove  clearly  that  it 
is  not  by  the  effect  of  the  insect  that  the  fruits  remain  on  the  tree,  as 
the  greater  number  of  those  which  were  the  soundest  and  most  vigorous 
did  not  contain  it.  The  experiment  made  the  first  year  on  the  Chiaja 


—  49  — 

fig  might  perhaps  tend  to  show  the  contrary,  were  it  not  that  there 
was  so  far  a  greater  proportion  of  the  fallen  fruits  into  which  the  fly 
had  penetrated.  That  arose  from  the  great  quantity  of  the  caprifig, 
which  had  been  applied  three  times,  so  that  few  of  the  fruits,  whether 
deciduous  or  permanent,  could  escape  the  insect.  Therefore,  from  the 
observations  stated  under  this  and  the  preceding  heads,  it  follows  that 
the  insect  is  not  the  cause  of  the  permanence  and  setting  of  the  late 
figs.  If  it  had  been  so,  it  would  have  been  found  only,  or  at  least 
chiefly,  in  the  permanent  fruits,  whereas  the  contrary  was  always  ob- 
served; and  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  a  fig  tree,  whether  caprified  or 
not,  always  loses  the  number  of  fruits  it  is  destined  to  lose,  from  what- 
ever cause — either  its  own  temperament  or  external  causes — and  that 
the  deciduous  ones  fall  the  more  readily  from  the  flies  having  penetrated 
into  the  cavity  and  induced  decay  and  mold;  and  it  may  happen  even 
that  on  this  account  many  a  fruit  falls  which  might  otherwise  have 
consolidated  itself  and  ripened.  As  to  the  permanent  fruits  which  had 
the  fly,  I  think  that  from  their  size,  strength,  and  vigor  they  had  been 
enabled  to  resist  the  effects  of  it,  especially  where  it  remained  caught 
among  the  scales  of  the  mouth;  but  as  soon  as  they  commence  ripening 
they  rot  very  easily,  the  flavor  becoming  affected. 

But  as  in  all  our  researches  and  experiments  we  have  been  unable  to 
discover  any  reason  in  the  world  why  the  caprifig  fly  should  render  the 
deciduous  fruits  of  the  domestic  fig  permanent,  or  hasten  their  maturity, 
and  as  it  cannot  be  denied  that  some  varieties  lose  every  year  a  great 
many,  others  very  few,  and  that  some  ripen  earlier,  it  would  be  desir- 
able to  know  how  this  happens;  and  this  question  I  will  now  shortly 
discuss. 

13.  For  what  Reason  does  the  July  Fig  Commence  Ripening  Some  Days 
Earlier  than  the  Others  f — Of  this  fact  I  see  chiefly  three  causes:  First, 
the  tree  shoots  out  some  days  sooner  than  other  varieties;  secondly, 
it  puts  out  but  few  or  only  very  small  early  figs,  which  fall  off  very 
soon;  thirdly,  the  young  branches  do  not  lengthen  much  and  grow 
pretty  equally,  throwing  out  scarcely  any  coarse,  watery  shoots.      It 
follows  naturally  that  vegetation  commencing  early,  the  flowers  are  also 
formed  early,  and  the  nutritive  juices  not  being  taken  for  the  spring 
figs,  nor  drawn  away  to  the  extremities  of  the  branches,  are  directed  in 
greater  abundance  to  the  summer  figs.     What  is  there  then  surprising 
in  their  ripening  a  few  days  earlier  than  other  varieties?     The  contrary 
effect  is  observed  in  the  absence  of  any  one  of  the  above  circumstances. 
The  winter  fig  produces  few  small  and  deciduous  early  flowers   (the 
growth  of  the  branch  is  rather  weak  than  otherwise),  yet  vegetation 
being  about  a  fortnight  later  than  in  the  Dottato  and  other  figs,  that  is 
enough  to  occasion  its  fruit  to  ripen  late.     The  Colombro,  worn  out  by 
the  quanitity  of  early  figs  which  attain  maturity,  produces  late  in  the 
season  only  a  few  late  ones,  and  those  usually  fall  off  unripe,  either  all 
or  the  greater  part  of  them;  indeed,  that  the  vigorous  growth  of  new 
branches  retards  the  ripening  of  fruit  can  be  proved  by  this,  that  if 
their  ends  are  pinched  off,  the  ripening  will  take  place  much  earlier. 

14.  For  what  Reasons  do  the  White  and  Dottato  Figs  Carry  their  Fruits 
Better  than  the  Others? — On  this  occasion  an  important  question  ought,  if 
possible,  to  be  decided,  that  is,  whether  these  figs  are  true  species  distinct 
from  each  other  and  from  all  others,  or  whether  all  the  domestic  -figs  are 
but  varieties  of  one  species.     If  we  could  decide  for  the  first  alternative, 

4-F 


—  50  — 

there  would  be  no  need  of  further  argument,  as  it  is  natural  that  different 
species  distinguished  by  external  characters  should  also  have  different 
constitutions.  But  I  will  admit,  although  I  am  not  convinced,  that  all 
our  figs  are  varieties  of  one  species.  The  varieties  raised  from  seed  are 
numerous,  and  in  some  plants  infinite  in  some  respects;  but  that  which 
has  now  to  be  noticed  as  more  especially  relevant  to  the  present  question 
is,  that  sometimes  the  constitution  is  altered,  so  that  some  varieties  arise 
which  feel  certain  influences  more  or  less  than  the  natural  or  primitive 
type  from  whence  they  proceed,  for  in  a  wood  of  chestnuts  or  oaks  we 
often  see  variations  from  one  individual  to  another.  By  this  I  mean  to 
say  that  the  White  and  the  Dottato  figs,  whether  you  consider  them  as 
species  or  as  mere  varieties,  cannot  be  denied  to  have  been  endowed  by 
nature  with  a  power  of  carrying  nearly  all  their  fruits.  But  difference 
in  habit,  however  slight,  is  usually  indicated  by  external  characters  or 
signs;  and  these,  caused  themselves  by  the  diversity  of  habit,  are  again 
the  causes  of  other  differences.  So  the  White  and  the  Dottato  figs  are 
the  strongest  and  most  vigorous  of  all  those  to  be  found  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Naples,  and  thrive  in  any  soil  Their  leaves  are  large,  not  much 
divided,  coarse,  especially  those  of  the  Dottato,  and  support  well  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  seasons;  and  the  leaf  is  the  mother  and  nurse  of  the 
fruit.  Vegetation  in  these  varieties  usually  proceeds  regularly,  as  they 
shoot  in  March.  They  set  no  early  flowers,  and  the  shoots  are  not  slen- 
der, unequal,  nor  attenuated,  but  thicken  and  lengthen  moderately;  the 
fruits  grow  regularly  from  the  base  upwards,  and  in  the  order  of  their 
age;  they  are,  moreover,  of  a  fair  size,  well  proportioned,  and,  though  not 
few  in  numbers,  are  not  crowded  so  as  to  interfere  with  each  other's 
nutriment.  All  these  circumstances  together  produce,  according  to  my 
opinion,  the  above  effect;  and  the  proof  is  clear  on  seeing  what  are  the 
effects  produced  when,  from  the  vicissitudes  of  the  season  or  other  causes, 
the  leaves  suffer;  or  when,  the  sap  being  irregularly  distributed,  the 
branches  lengthen  moderately,  and  produce  a  great  deal  of  wood.  Then 
the  trees  lose  many  fruits,  but  always  less  than  other  varieties,  being 
supported  by  their  intrinsic  qualities. 

15.  For  what  Reason  does  the  Lardaro  Fig  Lose  the  Greater  Part  of  its 
Fruits? — The  circumstances  stated  under  the  last  two  heads  explain 
readily  the  cause  of  the  Lardaro.  This  variety,  though  coarse  in 
appearance,  suffers  by  nature  much  from  changes  in  temperature  and 
from  moisture  in  the  atmosphere;  and  if  the  moisture  is  combined  with 
heat,  it  causes  it  to  throw  out  a  great  deal  of  wood.  It  produces  a  good 
many  early  figs,  which  I  have  never  seen  ripen,  although  they  often 
attain  a  considerable  size.  The  leaves  are  deeply  divided,  the  vegeta- 
tion of  the  branches  unequal,  and  without  order — here  and  there  coarse 
shoots,  which  grow  in  a  short  time  to  a  considerable  length,  with  twenty 
or  thirty  eyes;  and  whilst  in  other  figs  at  the  end  of  August  the  shoots 
often  cease  to  grow,  or  lose  much  of  their  vigor,  those  of  the  Lardaro 
continue  to  lengthen  through  September,  and  not  infrequently  through 
a  good  part  of  October,  having  always  figs  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves. 
These  fruits  are  very  numerous,  and  many  of  them  ill-shapen,  distorted, 
lumpy,  and  of  irregular  growth,  often  two  of  different  ages  in  each  axil. 
In  such  a  disorderly  activity  of  vegetation,  with  such  a  number  of 
fruits  of  different  sizes  and  forms,  with  so  much  sensibility  to  atmos- 
pheric* influences,  it  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise  that  this  fig  should 
promise  much  and  perform  little,  when  we  see  that  one  only  of  the 


—  51  — 

above-mentioned  causes  will  produce  the  effect;  for  we  have  stated 
already  that  the  Sarnese  and  Chiaja  figs  lose  a  part  of  their  fruits  from 
producing  too  many.  Meanwhile,  I  have  not  been  able  to  correct  the 
defect  of  the  Lardaro  by  pruning,  nor  by  leaving  uncultivated  the 
ground  where  it  is  growing;  for  that  has  appeared  always  to  give  it  new 
strength  to  replace  its  pruned  top,  and  throw  out  coarse  shoots  and 
make  wood.  Age,  alone,  and  the  enfeeblement  of  decay  tames  it,  and 
then  its  branches,  growing  little  and  becoming  less  disorderly,  preserve 
their  fruits  better.  The  difference  may  be  observed,  also,  among  the 
branches  of  one  tree;  and  this  to  such  a  degree  that  whoever  makes 
comparative  observations  on  different  individuals  of  this  variety,  sees 
that  by  diversity  of  age,  soil,  exposition,  disturbed  vegetation,  or  sea- 
sons, they  vary  so  much  that  he  cannot  easily  follow  the  thread  of 
explanation.  But,  essentially,  the  facts  are  the  same  as  those  observed 
in  other  trees — that  is,  that  vigorously  growing  individuals  produce 
little  fruit,  and,  like  coarse  branches,  only  make  wood;  that  those  which 
produce  an  inordinate  quantity  lose  a  good  portion,  and  that  generally 
a  scanty  crop  follows  an  abundant  crop. 

16.  Effects  of  Grafting. — After  so  many  experiments  had  proved  the 
nullity  of  any  supposed  effects  of  the  fly  on  the  domestic  fig  in  making 
it  retain  its  fruits,  I  one  day,  in  the  village  of  Ischia,  came  upon  a 
Colombro  fig,  which  seemed  to  show  the  advantage  of  caprification  in  a 
way  to  turn  one's  brain.  It  was  in  the  center  of  an  airy,  open  garden, 
with  a  good  soil,  situated  in  a  flat,  and  far  from  the  sea,  a  large  and 
beautiful  Colombro  fig,  with  a  handsome,  well-formed  head,  the  bark 
uninjured,  the  wood  everywhere  sound,  and  of  a  vigor  and  health 
without  equal.  From  its  foot  arose  a  fine,  large  caprifig,  its  boughs 
intermingling  with  those  of  the  Colombro.  This  tree,  which  had  ripened 
its  early  figs,  had,  towards  the  middle  of  August,  an  abundance  of  the 
late  crop,  almost  all  with  the  fly  withinside,  firmly  attached,  and  many 
approaching  towards  maturity.  At  some  distance  were  other  trees  of 
the  same  fig,  some  with  few,  some  with  many  of  the  late  fruits,  but 
none  which  approached  in  beauty  to  the  other. 

The  circumstance  of  its  having  ripened  two  good  crops,  which,  in  the 
Colombro,  so  rarely  happens,  induced  me  to  try  and  ascertain  the  cause. 
In  the  first  place,  I  thought  of  the  strength  and  vigor  of  the  tree,  the 
moderate  and  regular  growth  of  its  branches,  the  fact  of  its  being  at 
such  a  distance  from  the  sea  as  not  to  be  affected  by  its  breezes,  and  the 
fertility  of  the  soil,  all  of  which  together  might  account  for  the  abun- 
dance of  fruit.  But,  after  some  consideration,  I  did  not  feel  satisfied, 
and  had  the  tree  cleared  at  its  base  to  ascertain  whether  these  two  trees 
of  different  natures  might  not  be  naturally  united,  or,  as  cultivators 
term  it,  grafted  by  approximation.  I  found  that  such  was  the  case; 
and  further,  that  the  two  were  both  united  in  the  same  manner  just 
below  the  surface  of  the  soil  with  a  Dottato  fig,  a  few  of  whose  suckers 
grew  up  at  a  little  distance. 

Here  were  two  subjects  of  consideration  suggested:  first,  whether, 
among  the  various  effects  of  the  stock  upon  the  graft  in  influencing  the 
abundance  of  size  of  the  fruits,  a  similar  effect  might  be  produced  by 
the  above-mentioned  intergrafting  of  three  different  things.  The  second 
point  appeared  to  me  of  more  importance.  The  vegetation  of  the  domes- 
tic fig,  by  the  effect  of  atmospheric  vicissitudes,  never  flags  nor  rests,  at 
least  sensibly,  from  spring  to  autumn,  whether  with  the  growth  of  the 


—  52  — 

branches  or  of  the  fruits;  but  that  of  the  caprifig  rests  a  little  after 
having  produced  the  first  crop,  so  that  when  these  are  ripening  in  June 
or  July,  the  young  ones  of  the  next  crop  are  not  yet  appearing  on  the 
new  branches,  whilst  those  of  the  domestic  fig  are  a  month  old,  and  in 
full  growth.  Such  being  the  case,  where  the  stems  of  a  Colombro  and  a 
caprifig  are  united,  and  both  together  grafted  on  a  Dottatd,  it  must  be 
admitted,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  roots  are  sufficient  for  all  three;  and, 
as  between  two  trees  joined  at  the  base,  the  sap  must  pass  more  or  less 
readily  from  the  one  to  the  other,  and  as  the  periods  of  vegetation  of 
the  two  do  not  precisely  agree  in  the  present  case,  who  would  not  see 
that  the  Colombro  fig,  forming  its  second  crop  whilst  the  caprifig  is  at 
rest,  must  receive  the  greater  part  of  that  which  is  absorbed  by  so  many 
roots,  and  perhaps  even  a  little  of  the  sap  of  the  caprifig  itself  ?  But 
leaving  conjectures,  which,  indeed,  are  neither  strange  nor  new,  on  the 
effects  of  grafting,  let  us  return  to  facts  easily  appreciated  by  the  senses. 
If  the  Colombro  fig  above  mentioned  bore  so  large  a  crop  of  fruits,  not 
by  the  effect  of  the  graft,  but  merely  by  having  its  boughs  intermingled 
with  those  of  the  caprifig,  the  same  effect  ought  to  be  produced  where 
they  are  so  placed  without  being  united.  And  so  I  have  seen  it  at  Baja, 
but  without  the  Colombro  having,  on  that  account,  any  more  fruits  than 
others  far  from  the  caprifig.  • 

And  I  may  now  declare,  that  after  many  years'  researches,  and  follow- 
ing up  all  the  accounts  and  stories  of  cultivators,  it  has  never  happened 
to  me  to  hear  of  any  fact,  however  strange,  new,  or  singular,  on  this  sub- 
ject, that  might  not  be  accounted  for  otherwise  than  by  the  effects  of  the 
insect. 

17.  What  Account  should  be  Taken  of  the  Maxims  and  Experience  of 
Cultivators  on  Caprification  f — From  all  that  is  stated  under  the  pre- 
ceding heads,  I  should  place  no  certain  reliance  on  comparative  obser- 
vations made  by  the  lower  orders  on  two  trees,  one  caprified  and  the 
other  not,  to  observe  the  differences.  For  as  differences  in  humidity, 
heat,  rain,  atmospheric  influences,  soil,  etc.,  often  occur,  that  which  you 
may  have  thought  you  have  ascertained  one  year  will  turn  out  quite 
different  another.  Above  all,  a  frequent  cause  of  error  with  us  is,  that 
two  trees,  believed  to  be  individuals  of  one  variety,  are,  in  fact,  two  dis- 
tinct varieties  raised  from  seed,  but  so  near  to  each  other  that  cultiva- 
tors do  not  perceive  the  differences.  Varieties  from  seed  have  no  limits 
in  certain  plants,  and  are  produced  in  such  numbers  that  often  they 
may  not  be  distinguished  at  first  sight  by  external  signs,  and  often  these 
differences  are  only  in  the  constitution,  as,  for  example,  in  the  horse- 
chestnut,  the  seeds  of  which,  taken  from  one  tree,  will  produce  a  hun- 
dred individuals,  which  may  be  all  alike  in  all  their  parts,  raised  on  the 
same  soil,  with  the  same  exposure,  and  yet  many  of  them  differing  from 
the  others  in  the  number  of  fruits  they  bear  in  proportion  to  their  vigor, 
in  their  size,  in  the  periods  of  their  budding  and  flowering;  and  that 
happens  often  to  certain  figs  which  spring  up  everywhere  about  us 
from  seed.  Thus,  in  the  commencement  of  my  researches,  I  was  often 
deceived,  believing  two  trees  to  belong  to  one  variety,  when,  after  a  time, 
I  ascertained  that  they  were  distinct  varieties;  and  this  happens  more 
frequently  to  those  races  to  which  the  caprifig  is  given,  that  is  to  say, 
to  the  Lardaro,  the  Chiaja,  and  the  Sarnese,  which  partake  much  of  the 
wild  nature,  and  for  that  reason  bear  so  much  fruit. 

I  have  often  discussed  the  subject  with  cultivators  well  informed,  but 


—  53  — 

preoccupied  with  the  idea  of  caprification.  To  every  contradiction  of 
mine  they  put  forward  that  the  experience  of  many  years  had  proved 
to  them  the  importance  of  it.  Sometimes  we  came  to  the  proof.  When 
I  showed  them  fruits  not  caprified  ripening  at  the  same  time  as  others 
that  were  caprified,  the  most  sensible  of  them  replied  that  that  depended 
on  the  soil,  but  that  did  not  affect  the  property  the  insect  has  of  mak- 
ing those  fruits  into  which  it  penetrates  set  and  ripen  early.  If,  then,  I 
showed  them  the  number  of  fruits  fallen  from  a  caprified  and  non-cap- 
rified  tree,  they  always  claimed  the  advantage;  and  if  I  said  that  the 
same  fig,  as  the  Sarnese,  for  instance,  ripened  at  Ischia  abundantly 
without  the  caprifig,  they  said  that  depended  on  the  soil  and  on  habit. 
Our  cultivators  hold  it  for  a  maxim  that  if  a  fig  has  once  had  the  capri- 
fig applied,  even  the  White  fig,  which  in  their  opinion  does  not  require 
it,  it  feels  ever  after  the  influence;  and  as  if  having  once  tasted  of  it 
gets  a  bad  habit,  will  the  following  year  only  produce  few  fruits  without 
the  caprifig.  Besides,  seeing  the  insect  with  so  much  industry  and  ardor 
work  its  way  from  scale  to  scale  into  the  inside  of  the  fig  cannot,  in  their 
opinion,  but  produce  some  effect.  With  such  and  similar  matter  it  will 
be  admitted  that  I  may  be  quite  satisfied. 

18.  Conclusions. — From  the  facts  above  stated  it  appears  clearly: 

1.  That  to  understand  well  the  effects  of  caprification,  it  is  in  the  first 
instance  necessary  to  know  the  nature  of  the  fig  and  of  the  caprifig,  and 
what  connection  they  have  with  each  other.     And  we  have  seen  that 
the  caprifig  is  not  the  male  of  the  fig,  as  has  been  hitherto  believed,  but 
a  species  so  different  from  it  that  it  may  well  be  taken  as  the  type  of  a 
distinct  genus. 

2.  The  structure  of  domestic  figs,  as  well  of  those  to  which  the  capri- 
fig is  applied  as  of  others,  is  perfectly  similar  in  so  far  as  concerns  the 
organs  of  the  flower,  the  structure  of  the  seed,  and  of  the  receptacle;  so 
that  it  does  not  appear  how  the  insect  of  the  caprifig  can  be  necessary 
to  some  varieties  only. 

3.  And  we  have  seen  by  experiment  that  the  insect  neither  hastens 
the  maturity  nor  causes  the  fruit  to  set,  whether  of  early  or  late  figs, 
nor  yet  is  it  necessary  for  fecundation. 

4.  That  the  circumstance  of  the  caprifig  losing  early  many  of  the 
fruits  in  which  the  fly  has  not  been  bred,  does  not  serve  to  prove  the 
necessity  of  caprification,  but  rather  to  refute  the  doctrine  completely, 
as  the  fly  does  not  breed  in  the  domestic  fig;  and  besides,  we  have'  seen 
that  when  the  caprifig  bears  a  large  crop  of  fruits,  many  of  them  fall 
unripe,  even  though  the  insect  has  been  in  it,  and  the  grub  be  found  in 
the  ovaries. 

5.  And   in  respect  of  the  caducity  of  the  fruits  of   some  figs,  the 
causes  must  be  sought  for  chiefly  in  the  constitution  and  mode  of  vege- 
tation of  those  varieties;  and  also  in  the  soil,  climate,  and  vicissitudes 
of  the  season. 

6.  That  thus  caprification  is  useless  for  the  setting  and  ripening  of 
fruit,  and  therefore  this  custom,  which  entails  expense  and  deteriorates 
the  flavor  of  the  fig,  ought  to  be  abolished  from  our  agriculture. 

19.  Conjectures  on  the  Origin  of  Caprification. — Having  now  reached 
the  term  of  my  labors,  I  cannot  conceal  a  certain  anxiety  which  has 
secretly  grown  up  in  my  mind.     I  fancy  I  hear  from  all  quarters  that 
the  custom  of  caprification  being  of  such  ancient  date,  and  having  been 
upheld  by  so  many  distinguished  men  of  science,  both  ancient  and 


—  54  — 

modern,  cannot  but  be  founded  on  experience,  against  which  no  theories, 
no  subtleties  of  science,  are  of  any  avail.  Verily  does  the  rise  of  such 
ideas  in  my  breast  so  agitate  me,  that  many  times  in  the  midst  of  my 
labors  my  breath  has  been  stopped  by  the  fear  that  some  fact  illy  under- 
stood has  drawn  a  veil  over  my  mind.  Nor  should  I  ever  have  ventured 
to  publish  this  treatise  were  it  not  that  I  thought  some  consideration  was 
due  to  the  labor  I  had  bestowed  on  it.  Where  the  love  for  a  subject 
induces  one  to  undertake  a  work,  the  work  itself  increases  that  love. 
Besides  there  is  the  hope  that,  if  not  the  whole,  some  part  of  it,  at  least, 
may  prove  useful  to  science.  Of  this  it  behooves  others  than  myself  to 
judge. 

But  independently  of  all  such  considerations,  I  may,  in  courtesy,  be 
allowed  some  conjectures  on  the  origin  of  caprification,  and  how  it  has 
become  spread  among  us.  The  time  when  it  began  is  entirely  unknown, 
for  the  first  record  of  it  is  in  Herodotus,  who  lays  it  down  as  a  proof  of 
the  dependence  of  the  female  date  on  the  male,  as  of  the  fig  on  the  cap- 
rifig.  Certainly  experience  proved  to  cultivators  the  case  of  the  date 
tree.  Experience,  therefore,  many  would  say,  proved  to  the  Greeks  the 
necessity  of  the  caprifig  for  the  fig.  But  it  is  not  everything  which  our 
ancestors  have  handed  down  to  us,  by  history  or  by  popular  tradition, 
that  has  been  proved  by  experience,  and  often  has  analogy  been  con- 
founded with  experience.  Let  us  suppose  that  the  case  of  the  date  tree 
was  first  known,  and  that  some  one  observing  the  caprifig,  with  its 
coarse,  wild  aspect,  and  with  its  fruits  not  good  to  eat,  containing  the  fly 
withinside,  should  have  conceived  the  idea  that  it  was  necessary  for  fer- 
tilizing the  fig;  this  would  not  have  been  a  demonstration,  indeed,  but 
a  plausible  supposition.  And  how  many  theories  are  there  not  built 
upon  a  few  facts  generalized  by  conjecture,  analogies,  and  possibilities? 
These  theories,  in  course  of  time,  are  proved  or  refuted,  and  often  last  a 
long  time  in  spite  of  refutation,  so  difficult  is  it  to  turn  the  mind  away 
from  strong  impressions  and  preoccupations,  and  to  turn  it  away  from 
habit;  and  habit  is  of  such  force  that  it  becomes  a  second  nature,  as  the 
old  and  popular  saying  has  it.  And  when  a  maxim  is  once  taught  to 
the  lower  orders,  especially  to  those  living  in  the  country,  who  are  more 
tenacious  of  their  habits  and  customs,  every  one  knows  how  difficult  it  is 
to  get  the  better  of  it,  especially  when  it  is  connected  with  the  hope  or 
possibility  of  gain,  and  is  ancient.  Now,  who  can  say  that  the  custom 
of  caprification  did  not  rise  and  spread  amongst  cultivators  in  some 
such  way?  And  habit  is  so  great  in  this  class  of  persons,  that  often 
they  will  not  see  their  own  loss  and  the  gain  of  others,  preferring  to  die 
in  their  errors  rather  than  better  themselves  by  the  example  of  others. 

Certain  facts,  either  at  first  inexplicable  or  marvelous  in  appearance, 
have  often  given  rise  to  popular  opinion,  which,  from  the  remotest  an- 
tiquity, have  come  down  to  us  from  generation  to  generation.  Certainly, 
from  the  sight  of  the  moon  springs  up  at  once  the  desire  to  know  its 
properties;  and  at  its  brilliant  and  even  marvelous  aspect  every  one  is 
naturally  disposed  to  grant  to  it  a  large  influence  over  the  things  of 
this  world;  and  cultivators  of  old  consult  its  phases  for  the  periods  of 
confiding  seeds  to  the  earth,  or  felling  trees;  from  that  body,  in  short, 
they  deduce  either  the  probability  or  the  certainty  of  good  or  evil.  I 
myself  have  no  experience  on  the  influence  of  the  moon;  but  I  believe 
that  among  popular  credences,  supposing  them  not  to  be  all  erroneous, 
none  are  more  so  than  this  on  seed  sowing.  In  vain,  however,  would  it 
be  to  tell  the  cultivators  of  their  error;  all  with  one  voice  cry  you  down 


with  experience,  and  you  must  be  silent.  Experience  being  the  sensible 
ground  for  reasoning  on  phenomena,  there  is  no  appeal  against  it;  and 
however  great  and  numerous  the  proofs  you  have  to  the  contrary,  the 
general  opinion,  resolutely  maintained,  at  length  puts  you  to  silence. 
But  the  case  of  the  moon,  you  say,  has  nothing  to  do  with  caprification. 
But  do  you  believe,  that  on  seeing  for  the  first  time  the  different  kinds 
of  receptacles  of  the  caprifig,  the  insect  propagated  within  them,  this 
same  insect  afterwards  issuing  forth  and  penetrating  into  the  domestic 
fig,  forcing  its  way  from  scale  to  scale  of  the  mouth,  in  a  manner  which 
one  would  have  been  at  a  loss  to  imagine — do  you  believe,  I  repeat,  that 
this  fact  would  not  suggest  to  your  mind  some  great  design  of  nature  to 
be  fulfilled?  And  this  was  observed  by  the  ancient  Greeks,  a  people  of 
lively  imagination,  who  in  all  natural  phenomena,  in  many  plants  and 
flowers,  saw  secrets,  and  wonders,  and  records,  and  living  signs  of 
human  affairs. 

It  is  certain  that  the  practice  of  caprification  came  to  us  from  Greece, 
if  we  give  faith  to  Pliny,  who  says  that  in  his  time  it  was  in  use  in  the 
islands  of  the  Archipelago,  and  entirely  unknown  to  the  Italians;  but 
at  what  precise  time  it  was  imported  I  am  unable  to  say.  Writers  on 
rustic  affairs  in  the  thirteenth  century  speak  of  it  as  a  thing  practiced 
in  some  places,  and  they  then  knew  not  how  it  came  amongst  us.  What 
appears  to  me  to  be  interesting  is,  that  it  was  adopted  by  us  precisely 
as  the  ancients  had  it — the  opinions  of  our  cultivators  being  the  same 
as  those  of  the  Greeks  as  to  its  utility.  Among  country  people  the 
most  remote  traditions  are  perpetuated  without  any  alteration  of  conse- 
quence. We  read,  for  instance,  in  Dioscorides,  that  the  mandrake  has 
secret  virtues,  and  that  it  is  used  by  witches.  Now,  in  some  parts  of  our 
country,  where  the  plant  is  common,  the  same  opinions  are  held  of  it. 
As  I  was  wandering  one  day  about  some  fig  grounds  near  Naples,  I 
observed  suspended  to  some  fig  trees  some  of  those  spongy  excrescences 
found  on  elm  trees,  and  occasioned  by  some  aphis  or  pulex  for  the  pur- 
pose of  propagating  within  it.  Having  asked  what  was  the  use  of  it,  I 
was  answered  by  the  cultivator  that  those  spongy  excrescences  were  as 
good  as  the  caprifig  to  make  figs  set  in  abundance,  and  that  he  had  been 
taught  the  recipe  by  his  father,  who  had  proved  it,  and  his  own  expe- 
rience had  confirmed  the  advantage  of  it.  This  is,  without  doubt,  an 
absurdity,  yet  the  same  thing  may  be  read  in  Theophrastus;  and  after- 
wards Palladio,  in  his  chapter  on  the  fig,  says:  "And  if  there  is  none 
of  this"  (i.  0.,  of  the  caprifig),  "a  branch  of  wormwood  may  be  sus- 
pended, or  the  excrescences  which  are  found  among  the  foliage  of  the 
elm."  Such  is  one  of  the  numerous  examples  of  ridiculous  and  strange 
practices  in  use  among  the  lower  orders  from  the  remotest  periods; 
however  contrary  to  reason,  they  remain  in  vogue,  and  those  who  believe 
in  them  and  practice  them  allege  experience  in  justification.  Certainly, 
as  we  have  already  said,  experience  is  the  groundwork  of  all  sound 
reasoning  or  phenomena,  and  we  ought  on  every  occasion  to  follow  it; 
but  in  speaking  of  experience,  we  must  know  by  whom  and  in  what 
times  it  was  had. 

Returning  to  caprification,  from  which  we  have  somewhat  diverged, 
neither  its  antiquity  nor  the  experience  of  cultivators  are  of  any  account. 
I  do  not  wish  to  disparage  the  labors  of  so  many  great  men  who  have 
written  upon  it,  but  I  only  say  they  made  no  experiments;  the  ancients, 
like  Aristotle  and  Theophrastus,  relating  what  was  the  practice,  and 
Cavolini  and  Gallesio  preoccupied  with  Linnaeus'  opinion. 


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